Void (2017) Online
After Daniel and his wife abort their child, Daniel realizes his misjudgment, and his suppressed grief and rage about their unborn child threatens their marriage.
| Cast overview: | |||
 | Jesse Malinowski | - | Daniel |
 | Inga Eiss | - | Jane (as Inge Uys) |
In the total runtime of 11 minutes and 30 seconds (including credits), only 133 words (35 lines) of dialogue are spoken.
Multiple versions of the final scene were filmed on the last day of production, as director Sam Bartz was originally unsure as how to the film should appropriately conclude. Bartz's mentor Antonio Méndez Esparza saw a cut of the film that showed Daniel turning his car around (presumably to return home) and convinced Bartz that seeing Daniel make such a humble decision was the best way for the story to end.
Production designer Bethany Ruth Miller came up with the film's color palette, which is primarily made up of grey, purple, black, blue, and yellow. These are the colors that constitute a bruise, which was done to externally convey Daniel's hidden pain.
The jacket worn by actress Inga Eiss also makes an appearance in another short film created by the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, "Remember Owen", which began filming just two months later. Several of the crew members that worked on Void (including director of photography Zarmala Gilani and producer Lucas Omar) also worked on "Remember Owen".
Four scripted scenes were removed from the final cut of the film. Editor Zarmala Gilani (who was also the film's cinematographer, camera operator, and colorist) thought that the film's pacing was dramatically improved as a result. Three of the deleted scenes formed the beginning of the film's first cut, which introduced the audience to Daniel and Jane at a clinic and observed them as they returned home. Director Sam Bartz felt that the removal of these scenes created stronger narrative tension and added mystery.
The first day of filming saw the completion of Daniel's bathroom scene, as well as the scene in which Jane tries to speak to Daniel before bed. Throughout the remainder of the shoot, writer/director Sam Bartz would meet with Jesse Malinowski and Inga Eiss early each morning while the crew was getting set up to make script revisions that assisted in strengthening the minimalist naturalism seen in the film.
The first film by director Sam Bartz to be made without storyboarding.
The crew had seven days of production in an eight-day time frame to complete the film. They finished shooting the film early and under budget.
Actors Jesse Malinowski and Inga Eiss had known each other years before the making of this film. They are both Atlanta-based actors and friends off set, which assisted in developing their on-screen chemistry.
Daniel and Jane's home in the film was actually made up of two different homes in production. The bathroom and bedroom are rooms in a much larger home than the rest of the production. This was done because the crew preferred to have extra working space and make the room smaller by design, such as using a shower curtain in the bathroom to create a fake wall.
When Daniel and Jane arrive home, Daniel looks into his office and sees, among other items, folders that represent client files. The two visible names on the folders belong to director Sam Bartz and cinematographer/editor Zarmala Gilani.
Writer/director Sam Bartz is an avid lover of animated films. He watched dozens of animated shorts before selecting Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931) to appear in an early scene in the film. You're Too Careless with Your Kisses! (1932) was a close second.
The final scene in the film was supposed to be shot just a few hours after Daniel and Jane's final scene together outside their house, but a camera malfunction and the unpredictable Florida weather did not allow them to complete it. A small crew returned to the same spot a few days later when the climate was more production-friendly to finish the scene.
Actor Jesse Malinowski is almost never seen without his trademark gel-styled hair. He arrived on set for the first day of shooting with the natural look seen in the film, and the crew liked it so much he decided to keep it that way.