Être Singulier Pluriel, or as we usually refer to it, ESP, was a short film produced for the annual Walla Walla University Communications Department’s Fast Film Festival. The film was required to be no more than 5 minutes in length, had to be created from start to finish in the span of one week, and had to incorporate the use of either Spanish, German, or French.

The version posted here is the directors cut that is longer than the original presented at the film festival.  The longer cut allowed us to spend more time on character development and setting than the shorter 5 minute time constraint allowed.

Être singulier pluriel is the title of a work by French philosopher Jean-​​Luc Nancy, in which he makes a case for the idea that there is no being without being with, that there is no existence without co-​​existence. This film makes a statement within that philosophy.

Our principal shooting lasted for one day, with an hour or so of pick-​​up shots done in-​​studio. All material was shot in the Walla Walla Valley. It was a very long day, but an incredible one. We planned quickly, then shot on the second day of the competition, and used the rest of our week for post-​​production.

Our compositing and other effects work was performed in Adobe After Effects, editing was done in Apple Final Cut Pro, and color timing done with a combination of Apple Color and Adobe After Effects.

This project was a collaboration between the members of Mechan Media and a variety of friends in key roles.

Être Singulier Pluriel won the following awards:

• WWU Fast Film Festival 2009: Best Picture
• WWU Fast Film Festival 2009: Best Cinematography
• WWU Fast Film Festival 2009: Best Actor
• WWU Fast Film Festival 2009: Audience Favorite
• WWU Fast Film Festival 2009: Best Spiritual Message
• SONscreen Film Festival 2009: Official Selection