‘What’s Left’ is a riveting, expertly graded short film that stuck with us long after we’d finished watching it. Society has collapsed, everything has gone wrong, and five ordinary people are trying their best just to survive. To us, ‘What’s Left’ is a gem that we’re happy we found.
We are glad to have been able to ask one of the films creators, Ryan Gentle about the process behind their masterful project.
What was the inspiration for What’s Left?
“We started writing the opening story as a Black Mirror/Twilight Zone type survival story that seems like your run of the mill dystopian post apocalyptic story until you realize the ocean line you’re seeing is actually in Tennessee. We’ve seen a lot of scary changes in our own lifetimes and the fears of where our polarized society and our climate policies unfortunately provided plenty of inspiration for what could be ahead. We actually wrote the weather report in 2018 thinking 90 degrees in February would be pretty far away, but we hit 85 in Nashville in 2021 so we had to move the month to January when we finally shot it.”
The film was beautifully shot. What cameras and lenses did you use, and why?
“We shot on a Red Weapon primarily, a Red Komodo for the b-roll/nature shots, and a DJI Mavic Air for the drone shots. Our cinematographer Josh Shreve owned his own Red Weapon and we owned our Komodo and DJI so it made sense to work with what we had to keep the budget down and work with the flexibility a Red gives you in post, plus the camera settings FilmConvert gives to match the footage. We also shot with Blazar Anamorphic Lenses. To me, anamorphic lenses were used on some of my all time favorite movies before I even knew what they were so it only made sense to shoot with anamorphic 2.35:1 in mind!”
How did the look of the film strengthen the story?
“We had a focus built into the script that the character Anne is resourceful and works with what she finds around her. She learned so much from books she found, her musical motif was played by a hand cranked music box, and though we couldn’t actually shoot on film, giving it classic film grain and dust, and the colors of Kodak film stocks fit right in with that idea. “
What was the journey that led you to working in film?
“My brother and I started out making stop motion videos as kids and every summer we would make a little short film with family and friends (they were mostly bloopers). So I got plenty of experience working with cameras and editing as a kid. But I actually started focusing on basketball in high school so most of my time and effort went into that. I went from someone who never scored a point in middle school, to one of the best shooters in Tennessee my senior year of high school. I earned a spot at UT Chattanooga in college and red shirted my first year so I could develop as a late bloomer while studying Biology Pre Med. That’s where I met my then roommate and now best friend and collaborator, Austin Quarles. He and I became an unlikely duo: he was the theater kid and I was the jock (I hid my being a nerd well), but we bonded over our love of film and how we could escape difficult upbringings and explore whole new worlds for two hours at a time.”
“My second year I actually had hip surgery, complications, and an emergency surgery, before one final surgery the next spring that ended my competitive career. So I had a chance to really rethink my trajectory in life and what I wanted to do. That summer while I was recovering, I spent time going to the movies again, and decided that’s how I wanted to pivot. The next year Austin and I made a couple of short films, got offered a gig with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, and our business grew from there. Each professional job we got, we would invest in our own projects as well. This was not a planned journey, but some of the best adventures, on screen and in real life, are not based on a plotted course, but an experience you consciously choose to dive into without the promise of a good outcome.”
Were your parents into film?
“My dad showed me Terminator 1 & 2, Aliens, The Matrix (probably before I should have watched but I’d do it all over again if I could) and all the Star Trek movies growing up. I learned about the love of space and the philosophy of Star Trek from my dad, Zana. He was disabled my whole life—he had a birth defect in his spine, several surgeries before I was born, and a car wreck when I was a kid that created one complication after another. But, in a weird way, all of these bad things he had to deal with gave me a lot of time with him I wouldn’t have otherwise had. “
“I actually made a short film with Austin and several of our crew members from What’s Left as a tribute to him a few years ago. We also used FilmConvert to color grade it. But it was a father/son coming of age story and the love of space all wrapped in with some Star Trek homages that we finished during Covid. Most of our film festival run was virtual, but our first in person premiere was at the 2021 Nashville Film Festival and my dad got to watch it on the big screen a little over a month before he passed away.”
You’ve been working with FilmConvert for over a decade. Why is FilmConvert your film emulation software of choice?
“We started our journey as broke college kids. I loved the look of film but I’ve only ever taken photos on film. Shooting a short on celluloid seemed impossible. When I found FilmConvert it made the look I came to love so much more accessible. I’ve really nerded out at going so in depth to get as close to a film look as possible by adding in my own dust specs and more so it is a convincing emulation. FilmConvert not only gave me the tools to give my work the iconic film grain, but I got to use the same color characteristics of film stocks my favorite films were shot on!”
What’s your next project, and when can we look forward to seeing it?
“We’re keeping our next project under wraps for the time being, but we are making a comedy with a very different tone that we hope to shoot in the next six months or so. And of course we’ll be color grading it with Kodak Vision3 250D 5207 from FilmConvert!”
You can find the amazing work that Ryan and Austin have created on their YouTube @physawkfilms, and their Instagram @physically_awk