A lonely woman finds a strange item that allows her to travel to fantastical worlds, but what will it cost her?
Savannah Betts being the star of the show
Born of frustration of not having shot anything in 2024, Sidestep is a project about escapism.
In this dialogue-less short Sav finds this strange item that allows her to travel to many colourful worlds. She meets strange beings in beautiful locations and landscapes. It gave me an excuse to showcase all my favorite locations in the South West, and the talents of my favorite makeup artists and actors.
Working entierly dialogue-less is an interesting challenge. Sav is a very expressive actress, she’s been terrific to work with to figure out how to convey the character’s subtle emotional journey throughout the short. The short is designed to be very economical in shot count, and I’ve adopted a much more fluid camera instead. The shots are longer, covering a number of beats.
Jon Bard giving me his best stare
We’re still in production. The short is designed to be shot over many days throughout the year, so that we can use the change in seasons and light throughout.
Sav and I on set
Sidestep
Starring Savannah Betts
Written and Directed by Clement Jochem
A Shotgun Productions Film
Produced by Kyle Borg
Cinematographer: Benjamin Tate