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Like last month's short film Cyn, Wormhole Chasers was shot as part of the competition process for FOX's filmmaking reality show/competition On the Lot. Director Gregory Zymet was chosen to be one of 200 finalists competing for a slot on the show, and Wormhole Chasers actually earned him a spot in the subsequent round of auditions. As part of the competition process, Gregory was given one week in which to write, produce, shoot, edit and hand in a 3-4 minute project with one of three themes: "skeletons in the closet", "the end of a relationship" or "blinded by beauty". Choosing to go with the last theme, he adapted a story idea, then hastily assembled a production crew, and (despite several setbacks) commenced to crank out Wormhole Chasers in a remarkable six days.
Marjorie Adams lives by herself in her apartment, and goes about her daily life relatively undisturbed. This unremarkable existence is shattered one afternoon when a young scientist shows up at her door. He excitedly explains that he's a wormhole chaser, and that her apartment is going to be the site of the next wormhole appearance. Other wormhole chasers also arrive to witness the event: Bill and Betty Gulch (an Iowa farn couple) and Claire, a New Age hippie. Marjorie plays hostess to her unexpected guests, blithely oblivious to the anticipation over the expected phenomenon. But when the wormhole does not make an appearance, the disappointed enthusiasts leave the apartment, thanking Marjorie for her hospitality. But as Marjorie cleans up, she discovers in an up-close-and-personal way, that the wormhole was merely delayed, and that a whole new exciting world has been opened to her.
Content
If you've seen any of the projects from On the Lot, they are incredibly short. Watching these "mini-films" takes some getting used to, because they have to convey a story in a very short amount of time. As a result, there is no time for long explanations or dialogue, and the action must progress fairly quickly. The film's pace moved along quickly, but not so fast that the audience couldn't keep up with what was going on. The editing was very well done; it was brisk, but easy to follow, and not too choppy or jerky. The ending is a bit ambiguous, but in a sense, it's supposed to be, and fits the overall feel of the project.
The one thing that I really felt was missing, though, was the presence of Marjorie herself. Although she's in essence the "main character", she is the one character that we know the least about. In one sense, she is supposed to be more in the background, because she's caught up in the mundane routine of her daily life. However, because her rountine is being thrown into chaos with the arrival of the wormhole chasers, the audience needs to see how she's reacting to this change. When the scientist first comes to her door, we don't see any shots of Marjorie's reaction to what he's telling her. We also don't see any reaction shots when the Gulches or Claire arrive. These reactions are extremely important, because they not only let the audience know the kind of person Marjorie is, but it also in turn affects how the audience interprets her reaction to the wormhole.
Maybe she's frustrated that her routine is being changed; maybe she has absolutely no clue what these crazy people are talking about, but wants to be nice to them anyway; maybe she's so in her "own little world" that she absentmindedly shrugs and waves the guests into her house, without really asking (or caring) why they're there. If she was annoyed by the arrival of her guests, her shocked reaction to the wormhole can indicate that she has forgotten all of the petty frustrations in light of this wondrous world that has opened up to her. If she was politely clueless, her reaction could indicate that she suddenly understands what all the fuss was about. And if she was completely in her own little world, her reaction could show that this one spectacular event cut through her obliviousness and showed her a beautiful new world. These reaction shots wouldn't take up much time at all in the film, and would tremendously add to the overall impact of the film.
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