GHOST IN THE BOX (2025)
Director • Writer • Executive Producer • Editor & Visual Effects • Cinematographer
Awards & Accolades
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EQUIPMENT
Production
• iPhone 15 Pro
• Moment 58mm Mobile Lens
• Rode Procaster Microphone
• Amaran 100x S
Post-Production
• DaVinci Resolve
• Adobe Photoshop
CONCEPT & PRODUCTION
How do you make sense out of tragedy? For me, I developed an itch to put my pain into a story, which could then be shared with others. I didn't bother with renting a cinema camera, as this was an intimate project, and thus required a lightweight camera that could capture the images I wanted without being too cumbersome for one person to lug around or set up. And so, I decided to use my iPhone, along with some lenses designed to work on the phone.
This was an unusual film in the sense that, while I had an emotional direction in mind, the exact way I wanted to get there changed a bit along the way. I followed a script, although several lines of voiceover, as well as the sequence of events, would be revised to maximize the emotional impact while preserving the sincerity of the moment.
MANAGING LIMITATIONS
Much of the film's production had to do with tight timelines. I was in the middle of moving between apartments, and my old apartment was completely empty: a perfect location for the second scene in which old movies are being projected off a wall. The only catch was that I had a month or two to film before my lease ended, so I had to dial in the script and get the shots I needed.
The final scene of the movie takes place in a cemetery. This was challenging to film for a number of reasons. One was the emotional weight of being at the grave, the other was that the cemetery was an hour drive away, and the third was that, despite it being legal for me to film there, I wanted to be as respectful and unobtrusive as possible. For those reasons, I waited until the cemetery was empty before filming. Even then, I did so quickly, having planned the shots I needed to get beforehand. I filmed the wider shots first, then worked my way into the tighter angles, just in case other people began entering the place as I was filming. Despite how hectic everything was, the filming was a success.
THAT'S A WRAP
The "three" I'm holding up in the photo was the battery life of my iPhone by the end of this particular day of shooting: 3 percent. This should give you an idea of the degree to which this project was a labor of love. Firstly, it came out of love for my brother, who had been my collaborator on many of my previous films. Secondly, it was a labor. The locations, the script, the long hours...all of it, while not as visual-effects-heavy as my other films, demanded much of my energy nonetheless.
The greatest effort, however, was in preserving the experience of grief while simultaneously telling it in such a way that it could be accessible for others. Now that the film is published, and having received feedback from those who have watched it, I know now that I was successful in doing so.
