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Breaking the Zoom Wall

When an improv group reunites over Zoom during quarantine, their ability to never say no leads to a stunning revelation about the app that quite literally opens up a new realm of possibilities.

  • Ben Feldman
    Director
  • Ben Feldman
    Writer
  • Ben Feldman
    Producer
  • Jason Shulruff
    Key Cast
    "Jason"
  • Jack Alberts
    Key Cast
    "Jack"
  • Scott Sharfman
    Key Cast
    "Scott"
  • Jack Shulruff
    Key Cast
    "Frederick"
  • Sydney Feldman
    Key Cast
    "Cindy Marblestein"
  • Hannah Clark
    Key Cast
    "Hannah"
  • Jacob Iden
    Marketing
  • Andrew Zoldan
    Marketing
  • Project Type:
    Web / New Media
  • Completion Date:
    December 18, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    700 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Zoom
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ben Feldman

Ben Feldman currently works at The Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles while pursuing filmmaking on the side. A Chicago native and University of Virginia grad, Ben has been writing and directing films his whole life, including selections to the Chicago International Film Festival, the Best Directing winner at the North Shore Film Festival, and the Best Horror winner at the Virginia Emerging Filmmakers Festival. In college, he founded Virginia Filmmakers, an organization dedicated to creating a stronger film community on a campus with no film department. Ben also worked for the university hospital as creative director of medical education 360-videos, which he used as the foundation for his thesis, "Directing for Cinematic Virtual Reality: The Viewer as the Camera". Despite his engineering background, Ben remains committed to learning the craft of film through experience, and continues to get on set every opportunity he can.

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Director Statement

In April 2020, quarantined back in my childhood home, there was only one option to actually produce narrative content right then and there: Zoom. What started as an experiment became an obsession, struggling to keep a two-by-two stack of boxes interesting onscreen until we, literally, broke through... which only led to more challenges. As frustrating as recording over Zoom can be, from the logistics of physically "breaking the zoom wall" to unrelenting WiFi problems to directing actors in four different time zones at once, the format of the show and the distance between the team was what ultimately made the process so rewarding. I was able to reconnect with lifelong collaborators in spite of us being spread across New York, Chicago, LA, and London—something we never would've thought to do virtually without the pandemic—and together we tackled what we believe is a completely innovative filmmaking medium.

"Breaking the Zoom Wall" is about a bunch of actors and artists trying to make content from quarantine... so yeah, the same as us, but we swear we're not as absurd in real life. While it comes off as a pretty ridiculous comedy, our bible from the beginning was to keep it smart, relevant, stick to the rules of the world, and follow cohesive series through-lines that somehow develop these insane characters into relatable human beings, drawing inspiration from shows like "Rick and Morty". Each episode builds upon the last but no two episodes are alike; we strived to use different storytelling techniques that centered around different characters, inspired by shows like "Atlanta" and "Barry". Where this show differs from others, however, is that the audience can get a different experience by focusing on a different box in the Zoom gallery view. There is some unique combination of the effects of a traditional wide shot and close-up when translated to Zoom, and we took advantage to be able to convey multiple, intimate actions simultaneously.

The show was a blast to make for everyone involved because we really felt like we were doing something original at a time when it was tough to get anything creative done at all. We hope maybe one day we could get a following who will watch for the details, see the threads between episodes, but most importantly, laugh along to a rare light-hearted take on the year of 2020.