“Drug of Choice” by Claire Edmondson
Occasionally, we all need an escape from the everyday, but sometimes even our healthiest options can have unexpected consequences. In creative short DRUG OF CHOICE, one woman’s most reliable outlet spirals into an awkward situation but leaves her craving more, nonetheless.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
“DRUG OF CHOICE was one of those ideas that came to me out of nowhere, fully formed. I brainstormed through different scenarios but stayed with the idea of a mother who has to face her family while “high”. I felt it amplified the humor and stakes while providing more of a contrast for the tonal shift.
I love an escalation, an opportunity to explore different states of being and that’s what the tonal shift provided for me. The idea of starting dramatic, working to a joyous frenzy, and then the internal shift that takes place as our Hero’s highcrashes with her reality and her responsibilities to her family—that interested me. Working with the actor to find the best way to portray that in a performance that walked the line between grounded and heightened felt like an arc worth exploring while challenging myself to keep the film around a tight 1-minute mark.
The cinematographer and I planned the camera work to reflect the escalation and our Hero’s interiority. Our camera is more controlled, considered as we capture the running footage but gets looser as the film escalates. As the runner’s high is kicking in, we are closer to our Hero, moving with her, we are in on her whims and joy. In the house we are handheld, spontaneously moving with the family to capture the frenzied energy. For the family scenes, we embraced the natural daylight streaming through the windows to enhance our Hero’s reality check, but playfully added some flashing coloured lights to represent where her head was actually.
We shot this with a small budget and a small crew but we had so much fun making it. The high-energy nature of the creative was infectious, I hope that shows in the final product.”
-Claire Edmondson
CREDITS:
Writer & Director// Claire Edmondson/ @_claire_edmondson
Producer// Phil Soulliere/ @ironically_cliche
Executive Producer// Trust/ @madewithtrust & Mel Roy/ @melr0y
Production Company// Good Company/ @goodcopix
Director of Photography// Ben Meserve/ @benmeserve
Casting Director// Alisha Watson/ @alishawatson
Post Production// Good Company/ @goodcopix
Editor// Louie Seguin/ @louieseguin
Sound Designer// Louie Seguin & Damian Taylor
Sound Mix// Damian Taylor/ @hereisdamian
Music// “I Get High” by Iskwē/ @iskwe
Colorist// Matteo Belletta/ @matteo_belletta
Send Us Your Films
Hey filmmakers! Have a project of your own you’d like us to check out?