After Service

I sought to create "After Service" to highlight the way that food can bring us together. I have always been interested in the culinary arts, and have a history of experience in the hospitality industry; it was this that made me want to share and comment on the high-stakes and often tense setting of a restaurant kitchen. As such, many of the profanity-filled, sometimes violent moments in the opening scene of "After Service" are inspired by or taken from real scenarios I have experienced.

Inspired by the hit television show "The Bear", I wanted to show how people can attach emotion and memories to food, as the main character Matt (methodically played by Jono Darby) does when recreating a dish that his recently deceased mother used to make. Using the resources provided to us by MAPS/AIE and a small budget of $300, the crew and I were able to shoot the entirety of "After Service" in just 72 hours, a challenging yet exciting venture. Working with a cast of professional actors awarded me the opportunity to find more and more depth in the film's characters, in that every character has their own set of desires and needs below their facades that shape their nature in the film.

The film uses the asset of a virtual production wall for some flashback scenes, an undertaking that provided its own set of perks and setbacks. The use of virtual production was exciting, as myself and the crew were given the opportunity to utilise an up-and-coming piece of technology in the film industry, although our limited knowledge and budget often proved difficult when attempting to navigate its usage.

The choice to simulate VHS footage in the beach flashbacks came from my own upbringing in the early 2000's, when my mother would often film our family outings on a Sony Camcorder. I wanted to recreate the texture of those home-videos in the memories of the main character Matt.

This film also gave me the opportunity to exercise my abilities as a musician and songwriter through the original song "Ebb and Flow", that closes the film. The decision to set the final scene of "After Service" to a needle drop came early in the editing process, which led me to an old demo of the song from a year ago. I think the lyrics and distant, sometimes sombre melody succeed in grasping the feeling nostalgia and flood of memories that Matt is experiencing in that scene.

I hope that viewers will be able to feel the palpable pressure of the restaurant kitchen setting, and that audiences can empathise with Matt through the universal experiences of food and loss.