This week I got a chance to sit down with my good friend Spencer MacKay and speak with him about his newest short film, Subject #44 (2019). Subject #44 was made as an entry for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, a challenge that only gave Spencer 55-hours to come up with, plan, shoot and edit a short film for entry.
As part of the challenge, Spencer said, Easterseals gives out the genre that each filmmaker will be required to work within. From the first frames outlining an unknown medical test, Subject #44 positions itself firmly within this genre. When it is revealed that the test being shown will bend and tear space-time, well … it’s science fiction earned.
I wanted to know two things going into this interview and Spencer enlightened me on both. First, what struggles were created through the challenge? And secondly, what was Spencer’s relationship to science fiction?
“It’s unquestionable science fiction,” Spencer replied, “But one thing I’m really proud of is that it’s a grounded sci-fi film where the genre is used in such a way that it isn’t just a backdrop or a formula, it legitimately impacts the story and in and of itself creates the stakes for the story.”
“I love sci-fi!” Spencer continued. “I’m a big superhero nerd and I love time travel stories, so those really impacted the way in which I approached this project. I also have a friend of mine who I always take to sci-fi films with me because the two of us are able to deconstruct the genre and the films, so those conversations also heavily impacted the approach I took to Subject #44. I wanted the science fiction element to be there for more than just the challenge’s guidelines. Once we had the genre, we had the story.”
“Every genre has different opportunities attached to them and for me I knew instantly that this was a story I wanted to tell because it is very much central to who I am.”
Regardless of the genre trappings, though love them I do, Subject #44 is very clearly speaking on regret, loss, and a “be careful what you wish for,” attitude that was strikingly similar to parts of what Spencer had written about as a guest on Scriptophobic (I highly recommend people take the time to read that article, found here). “The echoing of the article was intentional,” Spencer added, “Just like the article, a big message for the film is nuance and accepting both the good and the bad that come with the situations in your life.” “But,” Spencer was quick to add, “it was the genre that brought out the direction of the story and the message.”
The themes that the film is playing with come through loud and clear, and couldn’t exist without the science fiction elements that bring them about; so it’s safe to say, that was an accomplishment. But what about the production itself? As I mentioned, it was made for entry into Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, and that meant a tight schedule.
“We were given the genre on Wednesday to begin brainstorming and developing ideas,” Spencer filled me in. “The challenge officially began on that Friday. We had pre-production on Friday, shot on Saturday and then did our post on Sunday. We all had to be really quick on our feet.”
While I’ve taken part in several screenplay challenges, I have yet to try something as intense as this or, say, the 48-Hour Film Project. I wondered if the time frame would prove to be a help or a hindrance. “This was the most difficult production I have ever done and, quite honestly, I am surprised the film was even completed,” Spencer replied to my questions. “We started off Saturday’s production by discovering that I had forgotten to list a key piece of sound equipment so all of the sound gear we had rented was unusable basically. On top of that, the opening and final scenes were actually supposed to be filmed in a chemistry lab but we lost that location because we had to go through about six different people to get approval and by the time we got to the person we needed to talk to we had run out of time.”
“The second scene,” Spencer continued adding to the gallery of horrors the production weathered, “was supposed to be filmed outside but it was raining and snowing on the day we filmed, so we spent half of our production day location scouting in the moment and improvising.” It never seemed to end, “On the post-production day we were supposed to have a hard drive for our editor but I had misplaced it so we had to improvise then, too.”
Subject #44 was a struggle from start to finish, by the sounds of it. Yet, for some reason, it only increased my desire to take part in a similar sort of film challenge. It sounded like a baptism by fire, I wondered if Spencer had found any lessons from within the experience?
“Some of what we faced was the nature of the time we were given for the challenge, and some were lessons I had to learn as well. For example, double check your gear rentals when you get them as opposed to after you leave the pickup site. And, more personally, I’m a very optimistic person so I need to get in the habit of toning down my optimism to make sure everything is in order instead of just trusting everything.”
Toning down optimism? That’s an intriguing lesson I had yet to encounter, though it made sense. Much as working under a total pessimist lowers your expectations, a total optimist would raise them. Perhaps, the lesson Spencer learned would seem to imply, the best path would be one of balance between optimism and pessimism – a strong desire for the best possible outcome, but a realist mindset that offers flexibility.
Now that it was completed, though, I wanted to know what Spencer’s hopes for the film were. “I think it has a strong message and a strong story,” he replied. “I really hope that people will resonate with that on a personal level. Of course, with any film you do, you hope for it to have a long lifespan with audiences and you hope for more opportunities to come for both the film and you as a filmmaker. This film is also a part of a competition, so of course I’d like to see it go all the way in that.”
We here at Scriptophobic certainly have our fingers crossed that it does. But, setting Subject #44 aside for the time being, did he have other projects coming up that he was looking forward to? “My next film that I shoot will, I think, be my Bermuda film. I’ll be travelling to Bermuda to make that in August, but I also have a couple of really special short films I’m going to be working on soon (in addition to my stand-up comedy). I am a very ambitious person, so initially my plan was to continue moving ahead with turning Same Nightmare (2018) into a television series (and I still plan to do this at some point) but the thing I’ve realized from making Subject #44 is that I really want to take a step back and work on perfecting the art of producing a short film before I fully transition. I feel confident with the creative aspect of the industry but now it’s time to further my experience in the professional side of the industry.
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