imum
SYNOPSIS
In her search for greater purpose, a secretly agoraphobic podcaster spirals into self-delusion.
Shot on an iPhone, with a crew and onscreen cast of one, imum examines loneliness, authenticity, and control in the digital age.
BACKGROUND
imum started as a writing project in 2020, a couple weeks into quarantine.
I was on my phone constantly, just cycling through different apps, and I saw so many other people in the same boat, just searching for something-- comfort, entertainment, guidance. And I became really fascinated with the people who were meeting that need, the ones presenting themselves as people with answers. I wanted to understand what could compel a person to take on that mantle-- a need for control? self-aggrandizement? an actual desire to help?-- and what is lost in that process: How does it push someone to twist the uncomfortable parts of their own humanity into a digestible narrative?
PROCESS
When it became clear that quarantine was going to last for much longer than a few weeks, I started to develop a process that would allow me to shoot imum by myself, in my own apartment.
Inspired by smartphone-shot films like Tangerine and Unsane, I learned how to shoot on my iPhone (with an anamorphic lens from Moment) and adapted the script so it could be done all in static shots. I used the Filmic Pro app to get more control over the image, and would make adjustments from an iPad that I would hide out of frame after hitting record. I used a RØDE lavalier microphone and a Tascam DR-40X recorder for better quality sound.
