A Syosset High School graduate is a member of a team of filmmakers who have developed a short film, comprising 31 short clips, delivered via the Internet. The trio believes this is the first time a film has been posted in such a format, for free public viewing, using the Instagram platform.
Aleks Arcabascio, an NYU film school graduate from Syosset, is one of three NYU alumni who produced, wrote and directed Artistically Challenged, a 31-part series of 15- second clips on the Instagram website about the comedic adventures of a young man who finds himself thrust into the art world, amazingly, as a new-found artistic wunderkind.
Star of the series is Jeremy Boros, a graduate of the NYU Theater School, who is also one of the three producers/directors/writers. The third filmmaker is Samuel Delmara, an NYU Film School graduate.
“The series consists of 15 second clips that are self-contained,” says Boros. “But they have continuity as well, so viewers can binge on as many episodes as they wish at one time, to see the whole film.”
“It was at Syosset High School where I started taking video and animation classes,” Arcabascio says. “Each episode follows the story of Nick Romaine, a struggling young artist in New York City, who tells a small lie and becomes an overnight celebrity only to find that his success comes at a hefty price.”
The film was shot over two weeks throughout New York City in more than 20 locations with a volunteer crew of more than 25 — including many NYU alumni and current students — and a cast of more than 30 people.
Boros says that most of the 15-second clips were released one a day in early July, with the final clip being posted on Instagram on July 31.
The concept is unique in filmmaking, Boros believes, in using the Instagram platform to deliver a film.
“People these days often don’t have the time to sit and watch an entire movie. So our film is a series of very short clips. You can watch an episode while you wait for a bus, while you wait in a doctor’s office, while you have a quick lunch.”
“We did it to test our abilities as filmmakers,” he says. “Right now, we’re not concerned about monetizing the project… We just want to encourage as wide a variety of people as possible to see our work. Hopefully they’ll like it and enable us to move on to bigger projects.”
Artistically Challenged can be viewed at http://instagram.com/actheseries.
