Logan Kishi, a senior at Orange Lutheran, has been involved in acting since he was just five years old, and shot his first ever short film when he was seven. “I mean, it’s fun,” he said with a smile and a shrug, and it’s evidently stayed fun for him as he has a new short film entitled See Me More that released on the 10th. This short film was created for the 48 Hour Film Project in LA, which gave them 48 hours to write, film, edit, and submit. In his own words, See Me More, “focuses on Josh, a kid racked with guilt from a tragic accident. Who, upon finding a familiar ring, is able to relive the events of the accident, revealing that not everything is as it seems.”
As the core creative force behind such an intriguing project, Kishi commented saying the process involved, “centering [himself] on a feeling or theme that [he] wanted to show with the project.” Once he’d done that, he was able to flesh out the characters and scenes to express those feelings; usually this takes him about a month, which aligns well with the timeline of this project. “There was a sort of, ‘ah-ha!’ moment that came to me at the most random time,” the young writer told me, “and from there it was easy to finish.”
As a fellow writer, I was very interested in what the inspiration behind this project was, as well as which scene and character were Kishi’s favorite to write. After pondering on it for a moment, Kishi replied, “The books I read and the shows I watch inspire the direction my projects go. I always wonder to myself, ‘if I were watching this, what would I want to happen next? What would I find most rewarding or intriguing to watch?’ And I’m a huge horror and drama fan, so the answer to those questions is usually pretty dark.” This authentic approach to writing is evident in the work he produces, being exemplified gloriously in his character writing capabilities. According to Kishi himself, this is something that he aims for when writing a character, he wants them to be, “believable and relatable,” as well as complex. These traits all culminate into the character of Josh, who was Kishi’s favorite to write, his reason being, “Josh has conflict within himself that drives his actions and ultimately his fate…and I think he’s one of the more complex characters I’ve written.” As for his favorite scene to write, Kishi responded, “the ending,” with no hesitation when asked. Fitting for someone who writes like a viewer, he noted, “I’ve had a clear end in mind for all the projects I’ve written for, so putting my vision into words proves to be beneficial for me everytime.”
Although he loves both equally, Kishi confided in me that he prefers to work behind the camera, rather than taking the spotlight as an actor, as it’s, “a career path [he] wish[es] to follow.” Hearing this, I immediately inquired upon what his favorite scene to film was, to which he said, “My favorite scene to film was a scene where it looks like the camera doesn’t cut as it spins around the two main characters…it was very challenging and took over an hour to perfect, but it was worth it.” With an excitedly attentive look in his eyes he continued, “Experimenting with different camera angles and getting creative with scenes that involve just dialogue really added a lot to the project.” This dedication to getting the perfect shot is already impressive, but when you consider the c48 hour deadline for this project and that filming lasted from sunrise to 1:30 AM, it becomes all the more admirable.
Kishi also gave a special shout out to Jamison Jamo Early during our conversation, who works on make-up for his projects. She plays one of the characters in this film and, although Kishi didn’t envision her playing the role when writing it (something he usually does), “she did an amazing job and rocked every second on screen! She was perfect for the role.”
“I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we loved making it!” See Me More by Logan Kishi is out now and available to stream on YouTube or IMBD.
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Photo Credit: IMDB
