BuddyBot

Made over 5weeks for $200 by a group of people assembled through Twitter. Having seen director Joel Sabadin’s Frequency in the finals of last year’s Tropfest Mobile Section, Travis Legge approached him to with his screenplay Buddybot. Keen to try his hand at the main competition this year, Joel took on the project and put the word out on Twitter for his cast and crew. In no time he had actors ready to audition and a crew including last year’s team plus newcomers Michael Wszelaki and Tanya Dyhin. With only high-school electronics some 15 years behind him, Joel’s work on the interactive Buddybot suit is amazing and adds a wonderful dimension to the story. Leading the project, he has also undertaken all post-production, special effects and editing, using his home computer. Beautifully shot by co-director Tanya Dyhin on a Canon 7D, the film came together on location in Coburg over just two days. Generous support from Catfish allowed the team to capture high quality sound and light the indoor set. With a background in fine arts and photography, Tanya used a Canon TS-E 17mm Tilt Shift lens to capture Buddybot’s point of view. After a great partnership with Joel on Frequency, Melbourne musician Adam Rudegeair again wrote and performed an original score that perfectly complements the film. Recorded in his home studio, Adam’s catchy jingle adds a sense of back story to the short.