“Anxiety Spiral” is inspired by the emotional uncertainty and fear of losing someone important in a person’s life. The team focused on the experience when one is unable to get in touch with a significant other after hearing some bad news that might have affected them. One’s thoughts can spiral, exploring worst-case possible scenarios, departing grounded reality. These nightmares can be alleviated with a simple phone call with the loved one in question.
The short films invite viewers to reflect on how anxiety can distort perception, and explores the physical effects of this powerful emotion, such as increased heart rate and shallow quickened breath. The team paid special attention to lighting, camera angle and shot type, and sound to emphasize and more definitively communicate the feeling of anxiety.
The team developed the concept, moodboard, storyboard, and shot list together, as well as directed and shot the film together. Each member of the team edited the footage individually, resulting in three different videos that convey the same message and concept but approach it from different perspectives. This project was a great opportunity for the team to learn the fundamentals of filmmaking and storytelling, and how to layer visual and audio treatments to effectively convey an emotion.
