Excuse the Intermission
Excuse the Intermission
The Chatter Network
Filmmaker Interviews LIVE from the 2025 Gig Harbor Film Festival
1 hour 18 minutes Posted Oct 2, 2025 at 7:00 pm.
Opening & Festival Setup
“But I’m a Shoe” Overview
Live Action Meets Animation
Casting, Voices, and Humor
Writing, Directing, and Improvising
Travel Anxiety As Story Fuel
Animation Choices & What’s Next
“The Graves” Logline & Origin
Loss, Denial, and Character Design
Constraints, Location, and Learning
Ghost Aesthetics and Mood
Practical vs VFX: Building the Spirit
Directing Performances Under Pressure
Distribution, YouTube Strategy, Metrics
“I Hope You’re Happy” Premise
Grief, Recovery, and Friendship
Writing Tight for a Short
Zoom Rehearsals and On-Set Spark
Music, Sound, and Bookending
Audience Reactions & Earned Silence
Wearing Many Hats & Leadership
Festival Run & Next Steps
“Float and Fly” Premise
Making a First Film Fast
Community, Locations, and Access
Working with First-Time Actors
Planes, Practical Rigs, and Duct Tape
Taking the Film Beyond Gig Harbor
“An Old Friend” Setup
Comedy, Heartbreak, and the Twist
Editing, Sound, and Pacing Emotion
Awards Run & Oscar Qualification
Festival Gratitude & Closing Notes
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Show notes
Send a text Five conversations. One weekend that proves short films can carry more than most features. We sat down at the Gig Harbor Film Festival with filmmakers who turned everyday pressure into unforgettable cinema—starting with a travel-phobe who literally becomes a shoe. That hybrid live action-animation pivot wasn’t a gimmick; it was a smart, budget-aware way to visualize dissociation, sharpened by a one-man animation army and razor-sharp improv that had audiences grinning at micro-expr...