Private Project

Oops! I've Been Driven Mundane

The meticulous routine of a stop-motion animator unravels when she is tasked with caring for a collection of strange plants.

  • Nick Schoenbrodt
    Director
  • Nick Schoenbrodt
    Writer
  • Sierra Thoulouis
    Producer
    Rosemary (Director)
  • Sofia Veraza
    Producer
    Shelf Life (Producer, dir. Erin Zhang)
  • Diana Simonzadeh
    Key Cast
    "Morkie"
    Chicago Fire (S1E22), Waterwalk (dir. Robert Cicchini & James Sparling)
  • Arlene Arnone
    Key Cast
    "Mildred"
    Bird Feeder (dir. Jack Fay)
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes 42 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 27, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    4,300 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Northwestern University
Director Biography - Nick Schoenbrodt

Nick Schoenbrodt is a writer, director, and cinematographer from semi-rural New Jersey. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Radio/Television/Film program with honors in Directing. His work borrows techniques from the horror genre to explore themes of isolation, alienation, desensitization, and the creative process.

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Director Statement

My first draft of OOPS emerged during a period more or less designed to alienate one from the whole of things: winter, in Chicago, during a later wave of the Covid pandemic. At the time, I was living in an attic—the original setting of Morkie’s hermitage before a number of production developments pushed us to relocate—and I felt quietly disconnected. It was dark outside. It was bitter cold. I stayed inside. I found myself lacking the stimulation needed to write, or to film, or to do much of anything at all.

I realized it was time for a bold swing. Something stylistic. Brash. Maximalist. Something that shouted its vision loud. Something that fought off that disconnection with at least a little bit of vigor. Something about art, and the people that make it, and the bare-knuckle fight it takes to create it when every step forward is a struggle against the ease of Not Making.

And thus, OOPS.