A couple days ago, I received an email from Director Sam Barnett of Barnettfilm about a short web-series they have been creating known as Operator. Naturally, being a fan of shorts films – especially within the genre of horror and sci-fi – I knew that I had to check it out..and I’m so glad that I did. It’s eerie, it’s dark, and for a short; it’s pretty damn terrifying. This first “episode” is available to watch for free on Youtube, but I’ll talk more about that at the end. Hell, it’s strongly possible that you’ve seen the short already, but for those that haven’t – Operator is a seven and a half minute stop motion animated web episode about a corporation that unleashes a plague of bio-mechanical “bugs” in order to make slaves of its workers. In this “pilot episode”, Bob is seen fighting for his life [for himself and his family] against forces that seem to be much greater than just himself.
What makes this short so special isn’t just the stylistic choices or even the horrific elements that are explored; it’s the time and effort that went into making it.. Watching Operator, you can see [and sometimes feel] all the time and effort that was put into every small detail: Bob‘s eyes, the parasite[s], the set as a whole; it’s all very well done. I can only imagine how much time and money it took to make everything involved. In his email, he mentions that he spent eight months making this 7 minute short.. which apparently seems to have paid off, because when he first released it it had over 615,000 views on YouTube! [and seeing the behind the scene pictures I was sent – which I won’t share here because I don’t know if Sam wants me to share them with the general public] Because of this, the next part of this post is fairly important.
What is wrong with Bob‘s face? watch Operator to find out!
Another thing that Barnett mentions in his email is exactly that: it takes a great deal of time, energy, and money to make this kind of short. Remember, this one episode took eight months to make, animate and distribute! Which leads me to the second part of his email. Currently, he has started to run a Kickstarter to try and fund the creation of new episodes. This wasn’t taken lightly though, because it took two [more] years of preparation. He talks about how he has “stepped up his game in a huge way in terms of puppet construction and animation”, and I can’t wait to see more. Of course, through starting the Kickstarter, he plans on pushing the sound design further by refining use of 3D Sound. He also mentions that for future episodes, he has “some excellent artists ready to lend their voices and talents to it”, which sounds like this is becoming bigger every day. If you so desire, you can donate money to this fantastic short like I plan to – pay day is Friday! – the Kickstarter campaign only has five days left to reach it’s target..and it’s pretty damn close to the desired target. [check it out and donate here!] So take it from me, Operator is a great short: it’s a grim story about the way the workplace can be, which – in my opinion – makes it scarier. Sam plans on making a full season of these videos, and with your help – he might make his dream come true. Help him today, by following the Kickstarter campaign and helping out by donating a bit of money to the cause. Alright, and now – the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the actual short. I proudly would like to present:
Operator: episode 01.
I also want to give a big thanks to Sam Barnett for emailing me about his short: Operator. It’s something I can’t stop raving about to friends of the horror genre, and it definitely deserves more recognition – even though the comment section seems to be telling that I’m not the only one who wants to see more! Also, if anyone else has a short, an online product or anything they want me to review/look at – remember you can always send me an email by filling out my CONTACT PAGE. I won’t always reply right away, but when I have the chance, I will.
So the question remains, what were Your thoughts on Operator? Was it not long enough? Or were you suddenly realizing your job isn’t all that bad; at least compared to Bob‘s. Let me know in the comment section below! Also, if you find yourself to enjoy what I do on here, then please take a minute and follow me over on my Facebook page [it’s at over 135+ likes – only a few more and we’ll have reached over 150!] By clicking that “like” button, you’ll see every post from warrenisweird the very moment it’s been posted online; and I also share links to articles and pictures/videos that will not be featured here on the blog. Every “like” helps me a ton, giving me the ability to write more posts for you to read, so be sure to tell the horror enthusiast in your life to do the same, and share The Facebook Page with your family and friends! I’ve also been writing way more reviews on my Letterboxd account, I’m trying to review every movie I watch, [both new and older] with my most recent reviews including newer films such as Deadpool and The Revenant! [I also just reviewed Crimson Peak! You should read that review as well]
THANKS FOR READING.
