Frame of Mind

During my third year in college, one of my professors told me that too many student filmmakers try to “build the Titanic in their basement”: they get too excited about making their film a masterpiece, and end up with something convoluted that doesn’t work as a ten-minute short on a four-figure budget. The best student films, he said, are the ones that practice restraint.

Naturally, my desire to ignore his advice was significant. Like most film students, I wanted to make something show-stopping that would get me attention. But I knew if that was my biggest goal, the film would probably come out worse. I wondered, what if there was a character who had to learn the price of obsessing over greatness? I decided to focus on that theme, and tried to make a film that demonstrated my interests as a director, regardless of how masterful it attempted to be.

The story follows Curt, a student photographer, who has been asked to submit a photograph that captures who he is. His resulting search for perfection, made worse by personal insecurity, puts him in conflict with his best friend John, an off-roading enthusiast who works at a grocery store. Inspired by Good Will Hunting, the style of Jim Jarmusch, and the mood of 1970s folk rock, I hope Frame of Mind offers a satisfying exploration of the territory between creative dreams and genuine friendship.