I'm Joel Haver, I made a feature length film entirely alone and released it for free! If you make a movie, I will watch it! AMA!

Hi Joel!

Do you remember drawing comics with your brother at your dad's house on the lake? Do you remember when I tried to make Mac and cheese in the microwave and it failed miserably?

Xoxo Your former babysitter

Amazing, small world!

That was a long time ago! I've lived through many failed macaronis since.

Hope all is well! :)

Hey Joel! Remember when I peed in your Gatorade and you never knew about it? Xoxo your 11th grade phys ed teacher Mr Clarke

How would he even remember if he never knew about it? Geez

Joel knew.

And he liked it.

Mr. Clarke's pee got me through long days and long nights.

hey joel!

why didn't you release it on your youtube channel?

i'll watch it when i get home, looking forward to it!

i'm a fan btw.

Wow! I wasn't under the impression I had fans!

That's actually a very good question that I wish I had a good answer to. By all means I prefer YouTube as a platform, it feels less exclusive than Vimeo and also you don't have to pay which is always a big plus. For my first few features I told myself it was because of YouTube's rights policy. They essentially get and retain the same rights you have over whatever you upload and Vimeo doesn't, but at the end of the day what's Google going to do with my free no budget movies?

For the time being I tell myself it's to differentiate my content, the same audience that'll watch a goofy short might not be in for a strange personal feature. Maybe soon I'll dump all four of my features onto my channel, we'll see!

As you can tell this is something I've mulled over quite a bit, haha

Much love!

Yikes! Was not aware of that feature of their rights policy.

You got a pateron or something?

Yeah, it's a little fishy, also had my channel terminated once for no reason and had to jump through hoops to get it fixed. At the very least, the fact that I do pay for Vimeo offers me the comfort of knowing I'm a paying customer so I'm not so easily expendable.

I do! Here it is! https://www.patreon.com/joelhaver

I just added some fun reward tiers where people can name characters and submit dialogue that'll have to be used in an upcoming short! Am gonna make an announcement video for them once my channel grows a little more!

Just got home and finished the film.

Reminds me so much of me at 22 after having broke up with the girl i dated since i was 14.

Just that isolation and loneliness you can feel surrounded by tons of ppl.

The wierd little unimportant things that can make you break down.

And the fucking awkwardness.

Sooo glad to be 32 and not in my 20's anymore. You really took me back to that time though. Thanks, asshole. Lmao!

Very well put! You hit the nail on the freaking head!

It's scary how accurate you are in your description, down to the age, I'm 23 now but was 22 up until the last day of filming.

Glad to have knocked you back down to my level for a bit, haha

Much love for checking it out and giving it your time!

You seem to be the right kind of crazy. I am just a few minutes in, but the seagull is hilarious.

What made you make this movie?

I might just be crazy! Glad you enjoy him, he gave a wonderful performance!

There are many answers to that question, and some lie somewhere in the movie! But one answer I like to give is that it is the anti-Cast Away. I made this movie at a very lonely time in my life. When a big Hollywood movie like Cast Away tries to tell the story of a lonely struggle, it feels thematically disingenuous. We know very well that Tom Hanks had personal assistants, a trailer and a big paycheck, the struggle is manufactured. As a filmmaker, I believe that in order to make a truthful movie the product should be synchronous with the process. I took that line of thought to a logical extreme and decided to make a movie about loneliness from a lonely place in a very lonely way.

If you wind up finishing the film I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Interesting. Have you seen Swiss Army Man?

I have! Fun stuff! Didn't leave a lasting impact on me, but I appreciate the original concept and execution.

I’m laying here watching Frasier on Netflix and reading this post. As I’m reading this comment in particular and am about 1/2 way through it Daphney says to her mother “what are you doing, I thought you rented cast away”. Crazy coincidence!

Frasier is always one step ahead of me and I will live my life in his shadow.

...cast away was a masterpiece in film don't go knocking it there.

I am not saying lying makes a film bad! Lying is intrinsic to storytelling and all of the best films do it!

Film making is the only medium that is able to capture reality as it occurred and play it back, making it's ability for truth incredibly powerful. Film is always lies and always truth, in that, what you're watching actually happened. Tom Hanks is not actually on an island, but he pretended to be and we are watching him pretend. And simply I am most interested in works where the pretending is minimized, or when pretending is happening it doesn't disguise itself as truth and admits to it's own artifice.

I’m intrigued because I was very excited to see Castaway, and when I finally did, it seemed like his life on the island was a very small portion of it. I wanted a real look at a life stranded on an island alone. Perhaps your film can be the one.

For sure! Cast Away is very much about his experience post-island as well. If you watch Island you might draw the further parallels! Though my film is very far away from a real look at it, haha! Steer clear if you're looking for a realistic survival movie!

Have you considered doing a poster where all the review quotes are also by Joel Haverland?

That's a good idea, works well with the themes and process!

"Made me cry and I made it!" - Joel Haver

Sorry i'm a bit baked right now just noticed I made your name longer lol

It's okay, I liked it

I dont know if Joel Haverlanderson will fit on the poster.

I think you're right, O'Haverlanderson might be too long

Yeah it'd be real struggle to fit MacO'Haverlandserson on the poster, you are right.

We'll have to go landscape to fit McCor macO'Haverlandserson on the poster.

Please McCor macO'Haverlandsersonville was my father, call me Joe

So you've made films before, were those all by yourself also? Have you ever worked with/over someone such as getting another actor or cameraman? If you haven't, why not?

I've been making films since I was a wee lad! Me appearing in my own work is a very new development from the last two years, for nearly fifteen years I always had friends, family and actors in front of the camera. My first two features I'm not in at all minus a cameo in 31 Days in Marshall, North Carolina.

Island is a very unique case where I had no help whatsoever, I've often had friends help out with camera and sound!

I'd chalk it up to me going through a very introspective time in my life! Once I figure myself out it might shift back, or maybe I never will and I'm doomed to a life of observing myself like a lab rat through a camera, haha

How'd you learn the skills necessary to perform all of those functions? Did someone teach you to film/edit/etc. or did you learn online?

I did go to film school, but that is something I wouldn't encourage anyone to do!

I don't believe a classroom is the right environment to learn something as hands on and creative as film. The best way to learn is simply by doing it. I spent a year between 2015 and 2016 making a short film every week as a challenge to myself. This was not only a self imposed bootcamp in the technical aspects, but also got me really good at not overthinking stuff and just getting things done. If you're able to set any sort of metric for yourself, it doesn't even have to be so intense (try a film every two weeks or a month even), I find it really helps.

The second best way to learn is just by watching movies, expose yourself to a wide array of films from different countries from different decades! I got into the Criterion collection in high school and they're a surefire way to find some amazing movies that'll expand how you view the medium.

However, being in college does allow you a big safety net to experiment and hone your craft amidst other filmmakers. Meeting people and collaborating was definitely the biggest takeaway for me. If you do go to film school, make sure to utilize the time wisely so that you leave confident in your filmmaking. I watched too many people squander it and they haven't made much of anything since.

out of all the skills you needed to make this movie, which was the most difficult to learn and why? Congrats BTW!

My skills developed very slowly over many years of making films, so it's hard to pinpoint one that was particularly challenging rather than just necessitating time consuming practice. The biggest hump is always the final polish. I love getting an idea, I love filming that idea and I even love editing it together. But once it's together, there's dozens of hours of tweaks and audio work to be done that's just tedious. The difficult part is just realizing it's never going to be perfect, nor does it need to be, and knowing when to stop. There are countless things I could've kept doing audio-wise to make the sound richer, but once the time cost outweighs the benefits to the film, that's when I've learned to stop.

A few friends of mine made a low budget feature that was released five years ago yesterday. I make an appearance very briefly. We have recently been talking about writing something new. Do you have any advice on creating a film on a limited budget whilst scheduling around full time jobs and family commitments?

Here’s the film. It comes in at about 85 minutes. It’s a mockumentary about a couple of straight-to-DVD film producers who want to make a name for themselves and end up trying to make an ambitious science fiction epic (that also happens to be a porno).

https://vimeo.com/181950521

Love it! I'll give it a watch sometime!

As far as advice around working around full time jobs go, I freelance and have for quite some time, so I can't really speak on it. In the case of family commitments, I'd advise trying to get your family involved! My first feature was made in my hometown with my friends and family and only cost $200 to make. Everyone from my dad, to my mom, to my brother, to my uncles acts in my stuff regularly!

Here's a goofy short I did with my dad last week - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAUk9XjidMc

Something like this kills a lot of birds with one stone! It's a fun time, it's productive towards honing your skills and growing your audience, and it's a great opportunity to bond. Making movies is one of my dad and I's favorite things to do at this point since we've done it for well over a decade! Consolidating your quality time with your creative time can make both thrive!

How long was the pre production of this film?

The closest thing to pre production I did on this film is the building of the set and props and that took several weeks. I'm a filmmaker that thrives in not knowing what's gonna happen and pre production serves to guarantee that you do know what's gonna happen. I did one feature with a script (Taking a Little Time to Feel Sorry for Myself), and while I'm proud of it, there was never that moment of "oh god, is this gonna work?", "am I gonna get this done?", etc. and that's where the medium really comes to life for me. Island was very much an improvised sort of visual journal where I filmed what I was compelled to film each day. If you told me at the start that this film was gonna go where it went, I would've been clueless how it would get there and I weirdly love that.

Took me 3 months to make this music video - it’s not exactly a movie, but it’s the closest thing I’ve got to compare. Amazing job, quite impressive.

Really fun music video! Great use of still images! Keep up the good work, music was funky af as well.

Thank you! Thanks for checking it out!

Cool film! Why did you choose a 4:3 aspect ratio? Also do you have any experience or influence by circus? The movie gives me a bit of a circus act feel, can't put my finger on what it is exactly.

Also... It is compleeeety different, but if you would have a look at this I would love to know what you think, It was also about a 6 month production time lol, but not even close to as impressive as your work

Super impressive uni-cycling man! Can tell getting that good takes awhile! It's hardly comparable, two very different things, impressive for different reasons :)

The 4:3 was a practical tool first and foremost. The way the set was set up, I didn't have much leeway for shots, and using 16:9 would've shown too much of the set, limiting me more. 4:3 allowed me more shot variety in such a confined space. If you watch the full film it also serves another purpose!

Not any circus inspiration specifically, but perhaps the ironic showman-like presentation could be related!

Have you ever thought about venturing into pornography?

On which side of the camera? I guess I could make the ultimate solo porn with the skills I acquired from this film.

Dude. Make a film of you fucking yourself😂

Would you be upset to learn that already exists?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD7wlrcvnrI

Looks like I could only watch this on lsd.

​

Have you taken any drugs past or present?

Maybe that'd help! Most people are surprised to find out I'm straight edge, only vice I have is sugar. Everyone assumes I'm hyped up on cocaine in order to get everything I get done done, but it's usually just gummy worms.

Sure "Sugar" same bro.

;)

What movie would you like to remake and why?

That's an interesting question that I've never put much thought into.

If I did remake a movie it would definitely be in a similar way that Charlie Kaufman "adapted" The Orchid Thief in Adaptation, very meta and self aware and ultimately a very different product from the source material. It would probably turn into a movie about remaking disguised as a remake and how that relates to the human experience, maybe something about how we lead our lives in a compulsive, safe and repetitious way in pursuit of approval not unlike Disney remaking all their properties.

With all that said, Snow Dogs but the dogs actually talk the whole movie rather than just in the dream sequence to right that wrong from my childhood.

I really enjoyed the film and I am now a fan, too! Great job, bravo!

I’m still hanging on that ending... if you had to add an additional scene, would you make it so the loneliness eventually ends?

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed and it feels great to have two known fans!

That's a wonderful question. The ending has been interpreted both ways, some people leave thinking my loneliness has ended and others leave feeling it to be cyclical and never-ending. The night I filmed the final scene, I knew the movie was over. I very much found my ending. I cried in a Wendy's reviewing the footage. It'd be very difficult for me to add anything, as much as I may wish there was something to add.

This is awesome! I imagine making a movie completely by yourself is both freeing and limiting. What filmmaking lessons did you take away from shooting all alone?

The hardest part about making a movie alone is not telling anyone about it. I've always been secretive about my projects, but usually there are other people on board that are at least clued in that I can talk to. Until I showed a rough cut to two friends, literally no one had seen or heard anything from the project, and that screening was very intense for that reason. I still remember hitting the play button vividly, felt like opening Pandora's Box! It was a great relief that they were blown away, after so long with a project in isolation, it's hard to look at it with any objectivity. The lesson there would probably be that it's worth it.

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It's released as in it's out to be watched online! I still own the copyright as it's creator, so it's not public domain or anything like that! I would like to retain that ownership if I choose to ever put out a physical release.

Hello Joel, I enjoyed the film. What was your main inspiration behind this setting and choice for film?

Thanks for checking it out! Glad you enjoyed it!

I touched briefly upon an inspiration for the film in this thread - https://bit.ly/2Y5UkL5

It definitely came from a loneliness I was feeling and an urge to express it in an honest way. A friend of mine compared the film to a journal and I'd say that's very accurate. I tried not to operate logically and concern myself terribly with the narrative and overall project as I usually would. Instead I sought to operate wholly emotionally and film what I was compelled to film day to day without question and make sense out of it later.

Do you have a set limit of how many times you'll tweak an idea or scene before you move on?

It's not a specific number of times, but I really try not to be a perfectionist. The hardest thing to learn is to be brutal about cutting stuff, I'm proud to say Island has over an hour of footage I just didn't use, which is rare for my work.

If I ever feel that I'm losing interest in a project, I know I've sat on it for too long and try to get it done and out ASAP before that flame completely dies. Usually once it's out I can look at it objectively and actually enjoy it once again.

Creating a lot of stuff and posting it without question is a great way to be less precious about your work.

What is your normal creative process? How do you get over writers block/burnout? Thanks:)

In short, I am very anti-planning! If I have an idea I'd rather film it right then and there than plan how to make it perfectly. Of the four features I've made, only one had a script. It's something I was glad to prove to myself I could do, but the other three were way more exciting for me. Making them up as I went always gave me a new puzzle to solve each day, rather than a checklist of things to get done. I also have done hundreds of short films, and beyond a select few, I typically lean towards improv acting and filmmaking for those as well. Forfeiting some control to the whim of reality excites me most in my work.

As far as writer's block goes I'm someone who has the compulsive need to create. I live a very comfortable life and that certainly allows me a lot of time to indulge in that compulsion, but at the same time that comfort can be my own undoing. I find when I am totally content with life, it is hardest to create, or create anything meaningful at least. Island emerged from a place of extreme emotional and personal discomfort. Not sure if this is good advice, but if you're comfortable in life seek discomfort and if you're uncomfortable in life channel it into something creative.

hey two questions 1. have you seen the indie movie the gaurds themselves on youtube by doormonster? 2. what is your opinion on fire emblem three houses?

I have not! If it's worth checking out I'll definitely check it out sometime!

Never have played the Fire Emblem series, wish I could have an opinion for you!

Did you ever think of working with Gilbert Gottfried on a film project?

Love the specificity of this question! Sure, if that opportunity came up I'd love to! Seems like a great guy!

Hey Joel! I Just watched your film a bit and i think i love the cinematography already! How much budget did you put in this movie? And what gears did you use? What programs did you use to do the sound and video editing?

Thanks for doing this AMA

I'm glad you're enjoying the cinematography!

The entire movie cost less than $500 to make.

I already owned all the gear for quite some time. I talked more in depth about the gear in this thread - https://bit.ly/2XLsvYW

I used Adobe Premiere for editing video and sound! I've been introduced to doing audio separately in something like ProTools and hate it to my core, I'd rather have a fun time editing than do it professionally!

If you finish watching I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Buddy you about to watch me have some freaky sex, where do I send the videos?

If you make a freaky sex movie I'm in! But it better be good! My email is in the description of the promo video!

What kind of camera/gear did you use to shoot this?

I used the og model of the Blackmagic Pocket that I got off of a friend and two cheapo lenses off Amazon that I owned. Super great camera for cinematic results without the bulk! Only problem is figuring out battery life because it's super finicky in that regard.

For sound I used this microphone which I've owned for years - https://amzn.to/2JCOOaK

And this lav microphone - https://amzn.to/2xXLkIY

Beyond that, nothing else really. The only light I used was a ten year old photo light my dad gave me and a projector.

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As far as selling the rights go, I'm not entirely sure. I'm not terribly interested in selling the movie and at this point it didn't really cross my mind. I'm happy with it being available for free and retaining ownership! It's very personal and would feel dirty if someone else "owned" it. The only exception would be if a certain respected publisher wanted to put out a physical version (pssst @Criterion) but that's a pipe dream!

Glad I could be the one to finally do it!

Why are carrots funny?

Way back in RuneScape, I was lolbananas. Then I grew up a little, started using bad words and became lmaobananas on AIM. Then bananas were out and apples were in and I existed as lmaoapples for some time. Then finally carrots were here to stay.

Thanks for sharing the movie with us. I was very skeptical of the film, but it made me feel different than any movie I’ve seen. It felt raw, it felt real. I love the ending. I’m not sure how to spoiler tag on my phone but the ending left me with a yearning for stumbling into a weird, shy, new connection, and feeling those fireworks once again after spending so long on an island.

I have to ask a question. Which mainstream films or books have moved you?

I'm so glad the film was able to make you feel something new. That's the best thing I could possibly hear about my work.

One of my favorite movies ever is Synecdoche, New York. It's a wonderful film that allows itself to be so tragic that its language becomes tragedy. And through that saturation of tragedy, tragedy is not only is sad, but also strange and funny and as not scary as it is scary. For me it's a wonderful therapeutic film I always turn back to.

Not sure how lenient we are on the term "mainstream", but my favorite filmmaker ever is John Cassavetes and he made a film called Love Streams that made me cry for over an hour. Just a beautiful emotional outpouring between him and his wife.

So when are you directing the Superman reboot?

In 2023 I am signed on to make Superman Returns Again. I'll be playing Superman and Lex Luthor and Lois Lane

Is it gonna be the one were you have sex with yourself?

Lex Luthor and Lois Lane cuck Superman in the climax

Hey Joel, remember me? I’m just a guy who you may have passed one time. Remember? You were in that island movie.

Bro! You were mad chill! Whaddup dude?

I would like to know if this is something you can show your family(specifically yours), and expect them to watch?

Will your parents, for example, ever watch this all the way through? Would you want them to?

I am very fortunate for the fact that not only do I have incredibly supportive parents, but they actually love my work!

My mom cried watching Island with me!

And my dad is a very strange man who appears in many of my films! Here is a fun film he and I made this week - https://youtu.be/DAUk9XjidMc

It was definitely a very steady climb from making goofy videos as a kid to making hyper personal full length movies, but I'm not hesitant to show them anything I make!

How was craft services on set?

Wonderful, all I ate was ramen, grapes and junior mints.

The choreographed fight scene looked like a blast! Did you know them personally?

If you're referring to the Russians, I met them that day and that's just something they did together, haha!

I notice other names on the poster. What's wrong, you couldn't write your own blurbs too? Seems like you skimped at the last minute.

shit. how the hell did those get there?

My friends and I are releasing season 2 of a web series called Bored As Hell, about Satan coming up to Earth and starting a radio station! The trailer is below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYPwqVz_AXk

Congratulations on your film! I will watch it!

The costume design and practical effects work look phenomenal! Great job! I'll check it out!

Great! Hope you enjoy!

Hi Joel! Firstly i am very proud for i can write a message to someone who made a film alone. Me and my 3 brothers to interested in filmaking and we are making a 90 minutes film for theatres. I get motivated when i see someone make film alone :). We isnt finished film yet but i was made a short movie very amateur because i am very new in filmmaking. Here is the link (English subtitles): https://youtu.be/m78ISISuaOM

And what is your favorite short movie?

Btw English isn't my first language, sorry if i made mistekes :)

Hey man!

Keep making movies! When you finish the 90 minute one, send it to me and I'll check it out! Don't be too ambitious about theaters, make a movie for yourselves, enjoy the process and figure it out from there! Don't put too much pressure on the movie and don't get upset if it doesn't go to theaters. Releasing on the internet is just as viable as theaters and I personally like it much better.

As far as short films go, it'd be tough to say! I really like the stuff my friends make, it's always exciting to see something by someone you know!

Why are people still setting off fireworks at 12 AM on a weeknight in my neighborhood ? July 4th was weeks ago.

Maybe their calendar in broken? That would be my assumption. Don't be so quick to assume everyone has a working calendar.

As a fellow Joel if there is anything I can help with like quotes for movie covers or anything holla! Haha

But favorite food?

Change your last name to Haver, then we can do that thing they'd do on Zach and Cody where they switch places because they're twins and mess with people.

Gotta pay respect to my tried and true pasta. Making myself a hefty helping of sauce and just having a week of pasta every week will kill me, but it's too good.

How has declaring to the internet "If you make a movie, I will watch it!" worked out for you? Do you think therapy will be enough, or is gouging out your own eyes the way to go?

Surprisingly well! Before this thread, very few people shared with me their stuff. With this thread blowing up, I expected to receive more troll content, but I really haven't! Just people sending me stuff they're proud of and I love that!

Not sure where to send it, here's one my friend made as a passion project over about 5 years, Canadian Ninja!

I ended up doing sound design and score for it in far too short a time when it was all done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EVE1ZVIRDw

Looks amazing! I'll definitely give it a watch sometime!

Keep making stuff! Never give up, you can have any number of passion projects!

Would you watch that 10 hour movie of nothingness people made to piss of critics? It was something along those lines haha. Also congrats on the movie.

Don't know why someone would punish me like that! But if it's good nothingness, I'd give it a shot, and if anything I'd be honored someone created a film specifically intended to fuck with me, haha

What do you go through to choose your actors?

When I have actors, I'm the least picky casting director in the world. I've never done an audition in my life and it hasn't failed me yet! I've met many frequent collaborators and good friends through picking them on a whim. I usually use the website BackStage to cast.

I also love working with non-actors, or rather people who never acted before. For my film 31 Days in Marshall, North Carolina my friend and I went to a small town we'd never been to, lived in a broken trailer for a month and made a movie with the locals and they did an amazing job. (https://vimeo.com/286186006) I think anyone can act if you make the set a fun time and cast them to their strengths.

That's awesome. I've always thought of acting. I mean where I'm at it isn't dead but yeah it's not the best.

I say go for it! My advice is to make your own stuff instead of waiting to be cast. Do some goofy stuff on YouTube or something, hone your skills and get your name out there!

What is the minimum length for something to be feature length? I don't really think of something that's barely over an hour as feature length.

Not to give too much credit to the Academy, but a film has to be over 40 minutes to qualify for Best Picture at the Oscars, so that's kind of the established standard! But it's really quite arbitrary, it's just a term!

Did you share your cuts for feedback?

I shared a rough cut with my friends and they gave me one piece of critical feedback that changed the film! At this point I have made enough stuff and this film was personal enough that I trusted myself to make most judgement calls otherwise! I've gotten good at being objective and critical of my own edits!

As a college senior about to make his first thesis. Any helpful insight on running a set?

Also as someone who wants to break into cinematography any life atips for after college?

My best advice is to have fun. Too many people make film making a chore and those are the people who never make anything post-college. If you dread an aspect of your film, ask if you really need it or if it can be altered. I've been on so many miserable sets and it's because there's too much gear, too many people, too much time wasted. Be light and efficient. A two person crew that feels they are essential will be far stronger than a ten person crew where everyone feels like an expendable grunt.

My cinematography career is entirely incidental, I prefer to shoot my own things so overtime as I've made a bunch of things I've just happened to shoot a bunch of stuff! In that regard, make a lot of your own stuff and have fun with it! You'll always have practice if you're making your own things, limiting your practice to jobs you're hired to do will bring your progress to a halt and potentially could kill your passion.

How long does my movie have to be?

I'll watch any movie feature length! So 40 minutes+!

Someone sent me this and I loved it - https://youtu.be/XuJVfZu4_LY

If you make something cool and expressive and personal I'll love watching it!

Care to share your favorite recipe?

My mom taught me this. Put a handful of chocolate chips in a microwave safe cup. Microwave them for about 45 seconds, until they're melty. Add in a scoop of peanut butter and stir. And you've got a chocolate peanut butter sauce that's delicious to eat right out of the cup. One of my great guilty pleasures.

Congrats man!

Fellow filmmaker here just got into my 2nd festival and I'm curious what to do next? What's the best way to approach people for funds these days? Everything I've ever made has been self funded and I'm going broke haha.

Here's my silly movie! Would love for you to check it out!

I give you Rumpleforeskin! https://vimeo.com/298275269

Congrats on the festival!

Beyond one Kickstarter, I've never raised funds for my movies so I'm pretty clueless on that front. All my stuff is self funded too but to keep that manageable I just don't spend money, haha. Island is my most expensive feature to date and it cost less than $500.

Rumpleforeskin is certainly an enticing title, haha! I'll check it out soon!

Are you the same guy who made “The Room”?

Essentially, just less attractive and less belts

Very interesting film, Joel, I enjoyed it! I'm curious, (film spoilers) did everyone who appeared (and was recognizably in focus) in the film eventually provide consent for their footage? Parts of it made me feel a bit uncomfortable, as they were clearly unaware they were being filmed, and when some asked, you lied and told them you weren't recording. Technical question, there were parts that seemed to have audio corruption. Was this intentional, or accidental, and why did you choose to keep those takes if it was accidental? Also,did you and the girl stay in touch? :)

Thank you for checking it out, glad you enjoyed! And thank you for using spoiler text!

As far as permission goes, the discomfort you felt is an intentional part of the experience, while watching and after. I think loneliness is confusing and messy and realizing how we use people is crucial at conveying that, that's how I felt once finishing the film and looking back at it. For that reason, I wanna leave it ambiguous, which is a lame copout, but I think the film will be stronger for it. I hope you understand! The audio corruption was an intentional choice to keep in!

Fair enough! It was quite a journey, and having been through some very lonely and strangely emotional times myself, I can relate to much of what the film is magnifying. Thanks for the reply.

I'm very glad the film could resonate in such a way! The best part about loneliness is we're all in it together, haha! Wish you the best!

Are you the sole actor? If not, then how can you make it entirely alone? Having even just one actor (not you) would make your claim false.

Did you watch the full film? That question is intentionally raised! You might not get an answer from the film, but you'll get more questions!

Did all of the people you spoke to during the film know you were filming? I was pretty amazed that so many people were so open to speak to a stranger.

Follow up question: Was this filmed entirely in Key West?

Edit: Except for the Disney World parts ( I hadn't finished the movie when I asked my initial questions!)

SPOILERS!!!!

It's an obnoxious answer, but I think that's a question that exists better as a mystery!

The second part was filmed throughout Florida, a bit in Key West, the first part was filmed on a set I built in my apartment in NY. During the Florida portion I was sleeping in my car for three weeks, traveling and filming!