Writer, Director, Producer, Editor
2020
9:30
Lachlan Ryan's heartfelt comedy for animal lovers of all ages. To date the girl of his dreams, a germaphobe must win over the most important loved one in her life… her dog. But he'll soon learn that man's best friend can become man's worst enemy!
When my brother started a relationship with his now wife, her over-protective pooch sabotaged him at every turn. The dog simply loved his owner and didn’t want to lose her. But as my brother persisted, the dog came to realise he wasn’t losing anyone… he was gaining another life-long friend. There was something captivating and universal about their dog’s journey, which had echoes of Woody’s character arc in TOY STORY.
I decided to turn it into a fun, family-friendly short, which instantly filled me with trepidation. Having worked on the dog movie, ODDBALL, I was all-too-familiar with the unpredictability of animals on set.
So I enlisted the help of my childhood friend, Cassie Cole, who had single-handedly coached her border collie to be a national agility champion. Cassie had always dreamed of animal training for film, especially with her dog Scout, and was excited for the opportunity. But there was a catch… I wanted her to star alongside him.
My goal above all else was to craft a memorable, nuanced dog performance. From experience that’s tricky if the dog is being manipulated by an owner/trainer off-camera. I wanted the on-screen relationship to sizzle. So I made a conscious effort to keep everything as authentic as possible. Cassie would play Scout's owner and the film would take place in their actual house.
Stylistically, my biggest inspiration came from Pixar animated short films. Not only can they humanise anything (lamps included), they are modern day silent films; relying on visuals and music to convey meaning. Since the main character of my short is a dog who doesn’t speak, I felt encouraged to take Pixar’s approach — albeit with a live-action twist.
I shot-listed the film in great detail, ensuring each story beat could be understood visually. For this approach the dialogue is non-essential, so I copied CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM's process and empowered the actors to ad-lib their lines. This helped them find their natural chemistry and made the process more straightforward for 1st time actor, Cassie.
What I’m most proud of is that amidst the crazy, technically challenging shoot, I never lost sight of the real star, Scout, and for that reason his performance truly shines.
PRESENTED BY The Storyteller and Fetching Behaviour
WRITER / DIRECTOR Lachlan Ryan
PRODUCER Lachlan Ryan
CINEMATOGRAPHER Joel Famularo
ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSER Thomas E Rouch
DOG TRAINER Cassie Cole
1ST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Luke Goodall
EDITOR Lachlan Ryan
RE-RECORDING MIXER Paul Shannahan
COLOURIST Chris Tomkins
SOUND DESIGNER Lachlan Ryan
2ND UNIT CINEMATOGRAPHER Michael Urbanczyk
1ST ASSISTANT CAMERA Ben Davies
GAFFER Andrew Stasiak
VISUAL EFFECTS Chris Tomkins, Lachlan Ryan
Sweeney Young
Cassie Cole
Scout