VESTING – Short film, Mason Bendewald

Development

Given the opportunity to shoot in a Hollywood Hills estate, Mason wrote VESTING on a weekend road trip. “I wanted to write something with layers and texture to limit the amount of dialogue and rely on the emotions of the actors in the atmosphere of the house.”

Production

Shot on 24P over the course of three days with two DP’s, the small team managed to capture some exceptional performances by both Tricia Small, and her real-life daughter, Ava Delaney Daikeler.

Post

Edited on Final Cut Pro HD, Mason and Mega Mace’s editors cut together a mysterious story, whose non-linear and unconventional style heightens the discontinuity of the film. “Before we shot the first scene I knew the sound design and the score were going to be key elements to the success of the story.” Great talent came through in the form of Jeff Russo – Original Score, Geoff Green – Audio Post and Chris Jackson – Music Supervisor.

Synopsis

Willa Voit is living the life most only dream of having; a family mansion that reaches up into the blue sky like a fairy tale castle, a loving husband who brings home flowers after work and a beautiful four year old daughter who is mature beyond her years. But this photogenic household is all but picture perfect, and one morning, something changes. In this story of desperate impossibility, writer/director D. Mason Bendewald explores the true depths of the human spirit and the strain that hope can have on one’s own reality. If hope is what dreams are made of, when is it time to leave those dreams behind?

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