„Filter“ Short Film

“Filter” is a 4-minute short film that unravels the unseen emotions of different people through a single shared object: a cigarette. As each person lights up, we cut into their world—a young man struggling with a relationship, someone feeling lost in a party, another broken by sadness, and one silently battling identity issues. Each puff transitions us to a new perspective, symbolizing how pain, joy, pressure, and isolation can live in the quietest moments.“Filter” is a 4-minute short film that unravels the unseen emotions of different people through a single shared object: a cigarette. As each person lights up, we cut into their world—a young man struggling with a relationship, someone feeling lost in a party, another broken by sadness, and one silently battling identity issues. Each puff transitions us to a new perspective, symbolizing how pain, joy, pressure, and isolation can live in the quietest moments.

Core Idea

"FILTER" Film

Emotional weight of the invisible: loneliness, anxiety, identity, heartbreak, and fleeting joy.

Inspirations & References

Experimental fashion & emotional expressiveness of David Bowie - English singer, songwriter and actor

„Perfect Days“ by Wim Wenders (for silent emotional pacing)

Narrative Structure

The loop narrative is used to reflect the character’s emotional entrapment and repetitive struggles, symbolizing how they are stuck in a cycle—whether mentally, emotionally, or situationally. It allows the audience to experience the rhythm of this repetition, highlighting subtle changes, personal growth, or the lack of escape. This structure strengthens the film’s symbolic nature, making the story more introspective, emotionally resonant, and thematically unified.

Symbolism in the Film

Cigarette – Represent untold stories / Pain

Beer bottle – Escapism and temporary freedom.

Broken bottle – Emotional fragmentation.

Flowers – Hidden softness, beauty in pain.

Tear drop – Unspoken grief.

Mirror – Self-reflection, identity.

Character Description

In Filter, four seemingly unconnected individuals are linked by a single, quiet ritual — the act of lighting a cigarette. Each character carries a silent storm: a man walking the empty streets, weighed down by a fractured relationship; a partygoer drowning loneliness beneath flashing lights and forced laughter; a grieving soul collecting broken glass as they try to piece themselves back together; and a person silently wrestling with gender identity, finding solace in their reflection and the quiet hum of self-acceptance. Through visual match cuts and minimal dialogue, these characters become one fluid chain of emotion, each puff of smoke a bridge between untold stories. Their moments, captured in fragments of solitude, reveal the unseen truths behind the filters scattered on the ground — pain, confusion, courage, and the search for belonging.

Match Cuts & Transitions

In Filter, match cuts serve as the film’s emotional glue — seamlessly linking one character’s life to another through shared actions, objects, or moments of stillness. Each cigarette puff becomes a cinematic gateway, transforming a single exhale into another's inhale, as if the smoke itself carries their collective weight.The transitions are carefully paced, blending natural gestures and environmental cues (smoke, light flickers, mirror reflections, ambient sounds) to shift from one story to the next without jarring the viewer. These transitions aren’t just technical — they express the unspoken truth that our pain, joy, and confusion may differ in form, but share the same human core.

Sound Design

Strategy:

Mix of ambient and artificial sounds

Examples: ticking clocks, footsteps, party crowd, water dripping, rising tones

Surreal cues: slight reverb, beeps after emotional hits

Balanced silence: important for reflection

Production Workflow

Filter was produced within a limited timeframe as part of our elective module „In the Mood for Light.“ The workflow followed a focused structure:

Pre-Production – Developed the concept, wrote the script, and created storyboards to plan each shot visually and emotionally. Character looks, props, and symbolic elements (cigarette, mirror, flowers) were finalized.

Production – Shot all scenes using minimal gear, natural lighting, and symbolic framing. I worked as both the director and actor, ensuring every frame followed the match-cut vision and emotional tone.

Post-Production – Edited the video in Premiere Pro and color graded in DaVinci Resolve. Sound design mixed natural ambient sounds with subtle artificial tones (rises, echoes, tension drops) to elevate mood shifts. Final transitions were matched precisely with character emotions and symbolic visuals.

This streamlined process helped bring the film to life despite time and resource limitations — making it a deeply personal and collaborative project.

Storyboard & Inspiration Visuals

The storyboards were entirely hand-drawn sketches in black and white, helping to visualize each character’s emotional journey and the flow of match cuts. They guided the mood, transitions, and key visual symbols, ensuring clarity and consistency during production