“Robin Goes Outside” Short Film

An expressionistic, frenetic comedy filmmaking thesis in film studies for Wesleyan's College of Film and the Moving Image.

Project Type
Wesleyan student thesis production
Duration
9 months (Sep 2019–May 2020)

My Roles
Director, Editor, Writer, Producer, VFX & Color editing, Music supervisor
Tools
Final Draft, Notion, StudioBinder, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro

Collaborators
See credits below



Overview

I was one of 21 film majors at Wesleyan who each created a short film for their thesis, despite the program's theoretical focus. For us, fall semester focused on digital film production and screenwriting, with two shooting weekends. Spring term concentrated on post-production.

I love stories where unconventional direction mirrors characters' inner struggles. In "Krisha," swirling camerawork transforms Thanksgiving into chaos, while "Punch-Drunk Love" uses abstract visuals and disorienting sound to channel its protagonist's anxiety. I aimed to bring similar artistic elements here.

The thesis films were screened to a jury of 5 unaffiliated professors, including AFI board emeritus Jeanine Basinger, and 3 anonymous industry professionals. I received honors and the Frank Capra Prize “for creating a senior film that is fully cinematic and uses the tools of filmmaking at the highest level,” and for “exemplifying Capra's skill in telling a human story that contains both humor and pathos.”







Credits

Writer / Director / Editor
Nathan Cheng

Cast
Maggie Rothberg, Annabel Asher, Alvaro Chavez, Sanidhya Sharma, and Liam Caplan

Producers
Ginger Hutchinson, Jacob Byers, and Sierra Falconer

Director of Photography
Cobey Arenal

Assistant Camera
Julien Vion

Gaffer
Jolie Zhang

Key Grip
Dustin Morris  

Boom Operators
Eiji Frey, Aryan Vavila

Wardrobe
Claire Moskowitz, Ruby Rechler

Production Assistants
Clara Coggiano, Maia Rubin, Eiji Frey

VFX & Color Editor
Nathan Cheng

Music & Sound Mixer
Aryan Vavila

Composers
Aryan Vavila, Jon Brion, Daniel Lopatin

Story Supervisors
Mirko Rucnov, Jacob Byers, Ginger Hutchinson, Sierra Falconer







Nathan Cheng

Open to all forms of collaboration.
Reach out at n@nathancheng.work


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The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission from Nathan is obtained.