FAQs

The short film was shot in various locations across Melbourne & Ballarat VIC, Australia. Locations included a private residence in Kensington, Craigs Royal Hotel in Ballarat, Queen Victoria Hostel in Melbourne and parklands in Parkville.

The film was created over a period of approximately 12 months. This time included the script writing, planning, production and post production phases.

The core creatives were James Antonio Masefield and D.O.Ü.G. who performed much of the films planning and production. Other creatives included the talented Gemma Horbury (Trumpet Musician) and Damien Pitcon (Composer). Co-stars Hélène Tardif and Alexander Dymalovski were instumental as well as the many extras who played the role of brethrens in the project.

Self Medicating follows the unusual practices of an individual who attempts to remedy the deep-seated psychological scars of growing up in a religious cult. Obsessive Compulsion Disorder, proudly identifying as a homosexual and the inability to cultivate lasting and meaningful relationships are among the symptoms he bears. To maintain control over these ailments the main character, 'Jack', self medicates by routinely revisiting his love ones in the past for all of the right and wrong reasons.

In planning we thought long and hard about the films colour pallete which ultimately led us to the principle shoot location, a plush victorian hotel suite. The pallete is bold and colourful with warm reds and oranges, deep greens and rich browns with influences stemming from the Russian constructavists, (namely Walter Kandinksy).

At several times during the film we chose to story tell through dance as an alternative to conventional narrative. It brings with it an unspoken sentiment and playfullness to the scenes.

The film is shot with Film Noir, German Expressionism, Dogma-style, Super-8, Ukrainian Fantasy, Chinese Temple arc, and Soviet Montage cinema styles in mind.

The use of split screens at different points in the film allowed us to story tell in an alternative way. It enabled us to deliver content in a rapid fashion and also allowed us to focus on small details that would otherwise be lost in a wide shot.

A concious choice to keep the production team small and intimate has enabled us to make good use of our modest budget as well as retain full creative control of the project. A small team meant we could inact our own creative intentions and react quickly to tasks and challenges in both the planning and production phases. Utilising James's access to film equipment via his learning institution we were able to secure all technical resources we required.

The films staging music was composed by Damien Pitcon. The dance scene music was a creative collaboration with D.O.Ü.G. using Ableton Live© and Gemma Horbury on trumpet. Once the backing beat was produced Gemma improvised according to what she saw and felt while watching the dances. This tehnique has produced dynamic and unique music that emotes beautifully and is in touch with the films visual content.

The film is loosely based on a true story although much of the events and dialogue have been changed and/or added for dramatic purposes and it should no longer be considered accurate.

The film will be submitted to various Film Festivals within Australia and beyond. Details on the screening dates and times will be made available via our site, social media and associated Film Festival media streams.

James is working on a number of projects that include both a feature film and several short films. You can view a detailed list of his Current Projects here.

D.O.Ü.G.'s head is still spinning from what he managed to acheive with this project and shall take time to contemplate his next steps.