“Why are your movies always about love?” My brother asked me some years back. I immediately went to my room, sat on the bed, and churned out a suicide-note-coded script. Then I texted my cousin, Melo:

“Yo, I have a new script. Let’s shoot next week.”

“Okay, cool.”

The third (and most depressing) of my smartphone short films, Mr. Therapy was a rather fun film to make, as my behind-the-scenes video (below the film) makes abundantly clear. It marked my introduction to sound recording, sound design, and sound mixing. Even back then I knew it sounded bad, but I had no idea how to fix it. I usually prefer to have excellent sound, or no sound at all, but hey, we create to learn, no?

Most of the shoot was done with just my cousin and I as a two-man crew handling the sound, lighting, and video while acting as well. We later called on two friends to assist both behind and in front of the camera. The microphone was hooked up to my laptop since, of course, I had no sound card or recorder (I doubt I even knew what they were back then). And yes, introducing the infamous DIY lighting solution: a torch, cardboard box, aluminium foil, and baking paper. Ahh, good times, good times…