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"These days, you think you met your soulmate. Next thing you know, they change their number and steal all your stuff." Can artificial intelligence actually write intelligent scripts? Or at least – interesting scripts? Progress Bar is the latest film partially created by artificial intelligence (the short film Sunspring was the first one). This experimental short film about relationships "attempts to harness the inherent absurdity of dialogue generated by A.I. by placing it within the confines of a more traditional (human-written) narrative film structure." Starring Jennifer Kim, Lucy Walters, and Kevin Breznahan. Made by the same team behind the other shorts The Grey Matter and Therefore I Am that we've featured previously. Worth a watch. Thanks to Pete for the tip on this. Original description from Vimeo: "In a near future, a woman navigates a virtual customer service call via her own avatar and digital assistant." Progress Bar is directed by filmmaker Peter McCoubrey,...

Whether you're prepping your first short film or starting to apply to festivals, you'll want to check out these tips which will guide you through the process. Before Making Your Short: Questions to Ask Before Making a Short Film: In a guest post, Peter McCoubrey, who co-directed the short film "The Grey Matter" with his brother Luke McCoubrey, shares some of the questions they asked themselves when making the short, which went on to screen at festivals and become a Vimeo Staff Pick. Why Make Shorts? Filmmakers Address the Purpose of Short Filmmaking Filmmakers, producers and distributors are embracing short films. Here's a report from the Bermuda International Film Festival, where shorts aren't an afterthought. 5 Tips on Making a Short Film as Powerful as a Feature: A recent shorts screening and panel reminded the audience of the art of short films and that, when done right, they can be just as powerfully captivating as features.

“Yeah, well, you’re not my friend. You’re a parasite.” When desk jockey Simon tells this to his newfound companion, Brian, there’s more truth to it than you might imagine. Blending dark comedy with creeping horror and palpable practical effects, brothers Peter and Luke McCoubrey’s new short film, The Grey Matter, is a delightfully bizarre head trip, and we have it for Daily Dead visitors to watch.

From co-director Peter McCoubrey: “The film is a dark horror comedy starring Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Girls, John Adams) as an office stiff who, after suffering a mysterious injury, finds himself stumbling through a courtship with a coworker played by Lucy Walters (Shame, Power)… but something strange is afoot. With the romantic guidance of a creature unearthed from his head wound, he finds himself stumbling through an absurd, increasingly unorthodox, and potentially fatal attraction.

I work with my brother Luke who...

The Grey Matter Short Film. Peter McCoubrey, Tim McCoubrey‘s The Grey Matter (2014) short film stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Lucy Walters, and Carter Roy. The Grey Matter‘s plot synopsis: “The film stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Girls, John Adams) as an office stiff who, after suffering a mysterious injury, finds himself stumbling through a courtship [...]

Continue reading: The Grey Matter (2014) Short Film: A Beneficial Serious Head Injury...

I've got an amazing short film for you to watch today called "The Grey Matter." It's a morbidly funny horror comedy that was directed by Peter McCoubrey and Luke McCoubrey.

The story follows "an office stiff who, after suffering a mysterious injury, finds himself stumbling through a courtship with a coworker… but something strange is afoot. With the romantic guidance of a creature unearthed from his head wound, he finds himself stumbling through an absurd, increasingly unorthodox, and potentially fatal attraction."

The movie was inspired by the genre movies of the 1980s. Peter has this to say in a statement regarding the film:

"We’ve always loved the way they [80s films] often bounced around from horror — to comedy — to enigmatic — to just flat out weird… as well as their inventive use of practical FX. Films like An American Werewolf in London, Return of the Living Dead, Big Trouble in Little China,...

"What were you expecting, a grasshopper with a top hat?" Take a moment to watch this short film if you're in the mood for a darkly humorous laugh. The Grey Matter is a dark horror comedy directed by Peter and Luke McCoubrey, known as the "McCoubrey Brothers", who explained via e-mail this week that they started making music videos for a friend's band and eventually challenged themselves to make a narrative short. After premiering at film festivals throughout the year, including Brooklyn, Show Me Shorts and the Nitehawk Shorts Festival, it's now online earning a recent Short of the Week feature. There are some solid practical FX in it, and the dialogue is fun which helps keep the film interesting. It's a great short, have fun. Here's what Peter McCoubrey wrote to us in an e-mail about their influences in making this short film: "Having a soft spot for the genre movies of the 80s,...