Where's Waldo

Roles: Writer, Editor, Director, Cameraman

Waldo is an ordinary guy, but one day he can see the camera filming...

Drawing inspiration from the Truman Show comes a film about a guy whose whole life is being filmed and he doesn’t know it; however, there are no “real” cameras for him to see, unlike the Truman Show. One day, he can see past the fourth wall and realizes the camera follows his every move. He tells his friends but no one believes him, so eventually one night, he tells the camera good night when he goes to bed. The camera fades to black, and he is gone when it fades in again. The rest of the film follows his friends trying to find him because the camera cannot.

The film starts with shots that are wider and more “objective”, but as it progresses, they get closer and become more “subjective” and personal; when Waldo “notices the camera” the shots become very “invasive” and will be mostly up-close.

One of the biggest difficulties I encountered while working on this project was getting the three-point lighting set and shotgun microphone to fit in tight/enclosed spaces. Some of the most challenging shots were the ones in the classroom and in Waldo's kitchen when he returns home from "outrunning" the camera.

One of the things I'm proudest of is the match cut running sequence that starts around 3:50 where Waldo opens a door and appears elsewhere outside. My secret with that is I switched from the Canon EOS I was using to an iPhone camera for the chase sequence, and I felt like the footage blended well together. Below is the final draft of the script.