What is the film about?

Our creepy little main character is Troy Sanders. Like so many of us, this kid feels a little out of place in his town, in his church and in his family. Growing up is hard, and sometimes parents just don’t understand, ya know?

What influenced it?

Storytelling that resonates with me the most really falls into two categories. One, I appreciate shows that present an intriguing antihero. I love it when a creator, writer, actor or director can get me to really understand that all of us are capable of anything. When I watch a show and I’m rooting for/justifying the antihero’s baser impulses, that’s the best. Almost everything I create analyzes darkness vs. light. That’s why I love shows like Breaking Bad and House of Cards. The second type of show that gets my attention is anything that can delight me and make me laugh. There’s plenty of great comedy out there that makes me laugh but it doesn’t delight me, and if a show does both, I’m in. In my opinion, Bob’s Burgers and Home Movies win in this category. They are both in my top 5 favorite comedy shows of all time. Quicksand is really about combining all of those ideas: a strong antihero that also delights and makes me laugh.

A little background information...

For a long time, I’ve wanted to create something that was built on some insane childhood misconception. So, I started asking friends about things they believed as children. I got some amazing stories. My favorite anecdote came from our friend, Troy.

How was the film made?

Every single person who worked on this short lives full-time in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m so thankful for the creative community we have here. Here’s the process. I asked Troy is he wanted to help me write the short, and he was down. It took us about a month to get a solid script. Then, I gave the script to our friend, Sam. He came up with the storyboards. Then, I gave Alex my creative brief that included, among other things, the script and Sam’s storyboards. She took all that, created style frames and production art and kicked it over to Dodge to animate. Sam also helped a bit with animation. After that, our friend Casey did sound design and music selection. I directed along the way. It was a blast. All their contact information can be found in the Vimeo video description.