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Hi, I'm New
In this dryly comic short, a boy and a girl meet-cute, but there's one problem: the guy has a closer relationship with his tape recorder. Written, directed and starring Austin R. Hartman, "Hi, I'm New" marks the Chicago-born Santa Cruz-based filmmaker's second time in The Daily Reel's spotlight (a previous short, "Friends, and Love," was featured earlier this year), and with his unique sense of humor and keen sense of framing, it certainly won't be his last.
A devotee of Wes Anderson (he even has tattoos, he says, of both The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore) and Shel Silverstein (The
Giving Tree, he says, was the first book that made him cry as a kid), Hartman says he wanted to make a short about what happens when a character doesn't keep his thoughts to himself; hence, the tape recorder. "Hi, I'm New" also reflects Hartman's continued interest in stories about people meeting for the first time. "A large focus of mine is to capture not only what happens on the surface of two or more individuals interactions," he explains, "but
also what is happening underneath. Inside."
His next film, "The Day Our Parent's Died (part 1)" also focuses on the initial interaction of two strangers --- a young man and woman who meet in a graveyard. "I can't remember doing this on purpose," he says. "But with this script there were certain elements that I've used
in former scripts that never got made,
but I wanted to go for something new. I wanted to the girl to be
much stronger. I also wanted to play with the idea
of fate and coincidence, while also keeping the option open for the viewer
to think it wasn't either one." As for the "part 1," Hartman says he wanted "to keep the option open for a sequel," he adds, "while I always have
wanted 'part 1' in a movie title."
Currently, Hartman, who is a film and digital media student at UC Santa Cruz, is trying to get off the ground a short called "Mouth," written by Santa Cruz-based Sundance regular Cam Archer ("Wild Tigers I Have Known"). While some pre-production has been done, he's still looking for financing. "I don't see myself doing anything
but make movies for the rest of my life," he says, "It makes my stomach feel
good inside."
A look at the awkward first meetings, between a girl and boy - and his tape-recorder
Santa Cruz, California
Boy : Austin R. Hartman
Girl : Sarah Kautz
Austin R. Hartman
Austin R. Hartman
Jeremy Royce
Jeremy Royce
