On an abandoned Earth, a lone survivor scavenges the ruins with only his hovering droid for company. When a routine supply run uncovers a mysterious message, their quiet existence begins to unravel, hinting they may not be as alone as they thought.
Director’s Vision for ‘PB&J – Population Brad and Jay’
PB&J (Population: Brad & Jay) started as a simple idea between myself and Alan Foulis. I wanted to create a short film that would help me grow my skills in directing, cinematography, editing, and visual effects, while Alan was stepping into acting and wanted to build experience in front of the camera. We wanted to prove that with a strong idea, a small crew, and a lot of persistence, it was possible to create something that felt much bigger than the resources behind it.
At its core, PB&J is a story about friendship, loyalty, and companionship in isolation. Even though Jay is a robot, the relationship between Brad and Jay is built like any real friendship. They look out for each other, survive together, and still find moments of humor when things get tough. Beneath the sci-fi world, that connection was always the heart of the story.
Visually, I was inspired by companion droids from Star Wars and films like WALL-E, especially the idea of giving personality and emotion to a small floating robot. Designing Jay as a hovering droid also made sense practically, as it was far more achievable for visual effects than a walking character on a zero-budget production. A lot of the rest of the film developed naturally during the edit, with problem-solving and experimentation shaping the final result.
The film was shot on a Canon EOS R5 with a very small crew, often just two people on set, and was made entirely in spare time over nearly three years. I handled directing, cinematography, editing, compositing, visual effects, animation, color grading, and most of post-production myself using Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Element 3D, and Blender, with additional support from Ryan Vietri on the Jay model and Andre Scheepers on the final sound design.
More than anything, PB&J came from a love of filmmaking and the challenge of trying to create something ambitious with limited resources. I hope people enjoy the humor, connect with the characters, and finish the film wanting to know what happens next.
