Last year, toward the end of 2019, I spent two glorious nights making a short film with some of my best pals: Andrew Hilbert, Miguel Villa, and Trey Hudson. We filmed on location at Radio Coffee and Beer after normal business hours. To make the movie, we used an Audio-Technica AT875R Line/Gradient Shotgun Condenser Microphone ($183), a DJI Osmo Mobile 2 Gimbal ($138), and the FilmicPro app ($15) on my iPhone Xs. Minus the cost of my phone, which I already had, our budget totaled out to $336. The Gimbal was defective, actually, and kept giving me trouble, so I ended up returning it for a full refund after we wrapped shooting, so the budget was even lower than that.

Here’s a photo of me Andrew took while he was sprawled across a duct tape pentagram, mostly naked:

After Andrew and I finished editing the short film several months later (life got in the way), we submitted it to several fests, and then…the world ended. Some fests continued virtually, some cancelled altogether. Either way, none of the places we submitted to decided to use the film, which is why we decided to say fuck it and release it ourselves via YouTube. Here’s the very fun poster Lori Michelle made for the festival submissions:

At this point, there’s really no reason to keep it a secret or anything. I desperately miss hanging out with the people who helped me make this short film, and rewatching it again lately was a nice way to spend 15 minutes. We had been in the process of mapping out a new short film to make just before COVID hit, so hopefully sometime next year when things start to calm down, we can get back on the short film train, because goddammit this was a total blast.

So here ya go. Here’s “Satan His Own Self” for your enjoyment. If you like it, please give it a thumbs-up thing on YouTube, maybe subscribe to my channel, and–hell–why not give it a share on your own social media accounts? Tag me on Twitter @GiveMeYourTeeth.

“Satan His Own Self” Written & Directed by Max Booth III

Edited by Andrew Hilbert & Max Booth III

Boom Operator – Miguel Villa

“The Bartender” – Andrew Hilbert

“Satan’s BFF” – Trey Hudson

“War on the Colorado” performed by Jack and the Hacks