Dissonance

(Directed by Michael O'Connell)

"Dissonance" is the first Michael O'Connell short film I worked on. My first actual collaboration with Mike was on Marlon, when Ryan Sitzberger brought him along to a shoot on a day when I was shorthanded on camera operators. He was incredibly easy to work with, and the stuff he shot was incredible. We've been friends and collaborators ever since.

Dissonance is dark. There's a lot of surreal moments and surreal imagery. Despite the truncated timeline of the shoot, Mike was adamant that the performance didn't end up "crazy, multiple-personality Hollywood schizophrenia guy." The shoot was fun--it was good to do something new, after the long, fevered winter of Marlon. As it is every time I work with O'Connell, no matter the subject of the project, all I really remember from the set is laughing. If I could spend my life laughing on film sets every day with my friends, I would. I should. Hell, maybe I will.

This is the first acting role I took on after principle photography wrapped on Marlon. It was a strange experience: my romantic interest is played by Mariah Rosado, who played my wife, Maggie, in Marlon. Ryan, the best friend, is Stephen Wardell, my Director of Photography on Marlon. Marshall is a schizophrenic who hears voices and sees things that aren't there, abuses alcohol and friendships...much like Marlon, who I played in that film. Mariah remembers it pretty much the same way: on the first day of shooting, during the first take, I was supposed to walk into the bedroom, sit down on the bed, and say "Sarah." Mike called "action," I walked in, sat down, and said, "Maggie..." in the low-pitched gravel voice I'd been using for Marlon for the last four months.

Like I said, we laughed a lot.