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INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING www.postmagazine.com 22 POST MAR/APR 2023 TROLLED Using social media to blur reality & entertainment BY MARC LOFTUS P enwheel Productions' (www.penwheel- universe.com) Bobby Cloud and John F. Uranday recently completed work on the new experimental horror film Trolled. Cloud served as producer on the project, as well as its main character — the Troll — with Uranday directing the psycho thriller. Inspired by genre classics that include Saw and The Blair Witch Project, Trolled presents itself as a live web show in which the Troll delivers vigilan- te justice to those who've been acting as online bullies. The Troll is called on by sponsors of those who've been bullied. He moves from city to city, abducting the offenders and keeping them captive in a dark basement, where he serves appropriate justice during a live stream. Much of the feature was shot over an eight-hour period using a combination of five GoPro 8 cam- eras and one Z Cam. The project has an intention- al low-fi quality, resembling the look of guerilla production, with limited lighting, grainy imagery and less-than-pristine audio, all adding to the "true terror" feel. At press time, the producers were working with distributors to get Trolled in front of audiences. In the meantime, there is a website — trolledsos.com — where fans can view the trailer and learn more. They are also developing an NFT aspect to the project, as well as the ability for viewers to direct their own experience by choosing different camera angles. According to Uranday, the idea for the proj- ect came from Cloud's own experience with online bullying. "It was right at the beginning of the pandem- ic and a lot more people were on social media," the director recalls. "Somebody actually started messaging him, basically threatening him over his opinions on things…saying horrible things. People use social media, where it's easy to see where somebody works or somebody frequents. He was like, 'What if we came up with a film idea where we gave the power back to the people that were being bullied online?'" Most of the feature takes place in a dark cellar, which is actually the basement of the office where Cloud works his day job as a lawyer in Bakersfield, CA. There are four offenders, strapped to chairs, and the Troll walks through the space, recounting their offenses and delivering punishment. Each ab- ductee gets coverage from their own GoPro, which was hidden in a mix of papers and file boxes, as to not be noticeable to the viewer. The Troll has his own GoPro, strapped to a headband, showing the audience his perspective as he walks among the subjects while capturing their horrified reactions. The Z Cam serves as a fixed camera, capturing the entire space. "We put them on these boxes behind each char- acter," says Uranday of the GoPros' positions. "On his POV, when he's walking around, you may catch a glimpse of them." Uranday was in charge of maintaining all six cameras. There was no script for Cloud or the other actors. Instead, Cloud spent a few weeks working on improvised dialogue that would move the storyline from A to B. They then shot in 10-min- ute intervals, stopping the camera and remaining in place while Uranday checked batteries and media. The flashback sequences covering the abduc- tions were shot months later. "Those were shot of maybe six months later," Uranday says of the abductions. "We had shown it to a couple of distribution people, and one in particular was like, 'If you can get out of this room a little bit and let us know who these characters are, why they are there, and show them being cap- tured…it just breaks up the monotony." In addition to directing Trolled, Uranday also edited the project, working in Final Cut Pro. "I am not an editor by choice," he explains. "I was an editor to keep our budget down. I've done it before. I've done it for music videos and other proj- ects. It was just something that I ended up taking into my own hands." He also created the graphical elements for the film, including the live chat room that appears from time to time. "I think the hardest part of the editing (was) trying to make sure that the audience is on-board watching it, and making sure we didn't (get) stag- nant. He does work the room really well, so it was these extra added things, like the chat room (that) make it more realistic." All of the audio was captured with the cam- eras, including the Troll's dialogue, through his head-mounted GoPro. Sound design was added in post to reflect the punishment that the victims receive, which happens while the video feed is turned off. Social media is an important part of Trolled's marketing, with a website and Twitter account de- signed to keep fans updated. Some followers have even reached out to see if the Troll is available to handle their problems with online bullies. "We had some people reach out to me, and they're like, 'We thought this Troll person was actually a real person,'" says the director. "That's the intent. Even that Twitter handle for him — [it's for him] to seem as real as possible." Filmmakers (L-R) Cloud and Uranday Five GoPros capture different POVs. Final Cut Pro was used for the edit.