Song: Edgar Allan Poe by Modern Aquatic, downloaded/licensed through Artlist.

(The intended soundtrack, Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart, was replaced for copyright purposes. The original version of my episode is available on Google Drive link below)

All we knew of Irma and Steve’s date was through Esme’s outsider perspective as both the audience and Esme were excluded in episode 6. I was inspired by ‘the morning after a one night stand’ trope for episode 7, it is dedicated to including the audience in Irma and Steve’s individual reflection of their night. Our assumption from Ep 6 is that Irma and Steve enjoyed an intimate night together, but now that they’ve parted ways into their solitary, we witness them become truly emotionally vulnerable and honest. We are engaged with Irma first, who initially seems calm and collected as she sends Steve off. But this coolness cracks as she closes her bedroom door and she cannot contain her giddiness, breaking into dance to Joy Division’s song ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. She dances past the wine glasses from last night and jumps back on the bed they shared, blissfully daydreaming. She appears enlightened after her night with Steve, it’s clear that she is smitten with him. The song deadens with a cut to Steve shutting his car door. I wanted to make it immediately clear that even though they share this song as they did their night, that both mean different for them. Steve is filled with regret and self-reproach, as he has always yearned for Esme and being with Irma has only made that even more painfully true. He sinks into a pit, contemplating the night and if his self sabotage has ruined everything, ultimately he decides that even if it has, he now has nothing left to lose and takes action (leading to next episode).

My process for this episode was to first decide what were Irma and Steve’s intentions for their date, and what that would result in for them the morning after. By showing such contrasting aftermaths between them, I hoped it would also signify and express that they had different desires and intentions going into the date too. I could comfortably express their individualistic experience since they were isolated for their scenes, but it meant considering a balance of contrast and connection. I enjoyed working with non-dialogue, one character scenes because it challenged me to think more about the bigger picture and creating a scene that escalates it.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QRnuphQCfqItR5FyBCXX-4qbaBN8azs8/view?usp=sharing