The Man-Machine

In an altered future, a man journeys to enlighten the truth on his existence, aiming to reveal the world he lives in for what it really is.

  • Rab McPhee
    Director
  • Rab McPhee
    Writer
  • Rab McPhee
    Producer
  • Jay McDowell
    Key Cast
    "The Man-Machine"
  • Jamie Lyons
    Key Cast
    "Alien Slug / Building Man"
  • Sam McDaniel
    Soundtrack
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    3 minutes 55 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Ballyclare High School
Director Biography - Rab McPhee

Rab McPhee (born 5th June 2003) is an independent filmmaker from Northern Ireland. He makes low-budget short films, often doing everything himself, and getting his friends to act for him. He also acts himself, sometimes appearing in his own films, but usually in his friends' films.

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Director Statement

This project came to me as I was stuck in a creative rut. I was working on another short film which I was unsure of how to forward its narrative, and this new idea sort of just came out of nowhere.
That other film is in black and white, and while I felt tied down and drained making that, this film was kind of liberating, and thus it only makes sense that it's in colour.
There were no set in stone plans for this film. I just turned up on the day with my actors with a rough idea in my head, and I just started shooting and it worked itself out. I think more filmmakers should work like that. You take more risks because you don't have that concrete vision in your head.
This film is all over the place in terms of influence. A little bit Jodorowsky with the spiritual journey up a mountain, and I'd like to say a little bit Gilliam with the absurdity of the creatures as well. If the cinematography is taken from one film, then I think it's Kurosawa's 'Dreams', though I think there are some neon-noir style influences as well. The cinematography style is something particularly different for me, as previously I have more experience with desaturated palettes, however for this project I cranked the colour way up. Tsukamoto's 'Tetsuo: The Iron Man' was a big influence for this as well, as the whole idea of losing one's touch with their humanity because of machinery kind of stems from that.
With this film I was sort of trying to show how reliant we are on technology, how it is a part of us, and how it kind of tortures and hurts us, yet we are seemingly oblivious to that for the most part.