Of Beast and Man

Of Beast and Man

A short conversation between a cannibal and some guy. Cannibals are more human than you think.

Starring Alex Pomorski, Phil

Download the video!
Length: 4:52

Extras:
- Watch/download with audio commentary!

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Comments from Phil:

"Why do cannibals do what they do? Aren't they just messed up humans like the rest of us "normal" people?" That was pretty much the basis for this movie. I wanted to show a different side of cannibals, that they were more than just bloodthirsty monsters. That behind their people devouring exteriors they are relatively normal people. They can be into all the same stuff as we are (Star Wars, mayhaps?), enjoy all the same things, hate all the same things, etc. As Alex had put it when he read the script, I "humanized" the cannibal. But also, I wanted to try to understand why a cannibal is this way. Well, I don't really know, so I just made up some interesting explanations that might let you see their reasoning from a different angle, other than "They're INSANE!". Those Hannibal Lecter movies probably did this better than I did, but hey, I'm an amateur, give me a break!

This movie was written from November 5, 2004 to November 9, 2004. The idea pretty much just came to me in a couple of seconds, and I started writing tirelessly over those five days. I always had me and Alex in mind for the characters. I actually wrote specifically for us (keeping in mind the things we say and how we say them), but at the same time I still wanted someone else to play the cannibal since I had a "No Phil in Movies" policy, which I'm a little more relaxed with now since doing Of Beast and Man. Obviously I ended up doing it myself.

We filmed about a week or so later, I forget the exact day. Derek was brought on board to handle the camera since I didn't trust Alex with it while I was filming my parts, and he had experience behind the camera. I was a little bit unprepared for this shoot. I never really tested out the bungee cords we were going to use to tie up Alex. They ended up being REALLY tight, so we opted for an old skipping rope, which had its own problems. Alex easily slipped out of it many times, and of course he took advantage of that to create some bloopers. He also seemed to complain a lot between takes, or hinted that he didn't want to be there with is head buried in his arms all the time. But when I yelled "action" he did his part, which is what matters in the end, I guess. Although there were a lot of lines, if not all, that he had to do time and time again. But it makes the shoot more fun sometimes.

I had a pretty tough time trying to be relaxed for my first time acting in front of the camera (and showing my face), but I managed to spew out the lines without looking like a complete wreck. There are a couple of lines I would go back and fix if I could (the "Yap, yap, yap..." line particularly). And that "costume"...what was I thinking?! Told you I was unprepared. Basically right before we started I grabbed my coat and hat and put 'em on. I thought maybe the hat would create a cool shadow over my eyes, but without proper lighting that couldn't really be achieved.

But all-in-all, I think it went pretty well for my first original and non-comedic film. I mean, aside from the constant distractions and delays (had to wait for my sister to clean up the kitchen for about 20 minutes, and then wait for my parents to finish making their coffee for maybe another 10 minutes). It's hard working when there are other people around who have nothing to do with it!

Anyway, enjoy Of Beast and Man!