Driven by school pressures and unhealthy obsessions, a med student chases success by any means.

Pinpoint dives headfirst into the chaos of ambition and addiction, exposing the dark underbelly of academia and the human cost of perfection. The film follows Wolfe, a med student teetering on the edge, whose fascination with anatomy spirals into obsession. Surrounded by classmates numbed by opioids and driven by relentless pressure to succeed, Wolfe’s pursuit of excellence becomes a descent into madness—where failure isn’t an option, but humanity is expendable.

As part of Film Shortage’s Halloween Week, Pinpoint stands out as a visceral blend of thriller and satire, evoking the psychological tension of Whiplash and the grim realism of Requiem for a Dream. Michael Merlino crafts a world that’s raw, abrasive, and disturbingly recognizable—where ambition rots into compulsion and the race to the top becomes a race against one’s own sanity. It’s a haunting reflection on the price of success in a system that rewards breakdown over balance.

The protagonist Wolfe is both unsettling and compelling. How did you shape him to reflect the broken systems around him while keeping him grounded in human vulnerability?

I owe this to Wolfe’s introverted tendencies, as well as his academic struggles, despite an ambitious yearning. These really anchor his pursuits, humbling him in a way I hope people can relate to… up to a point. There’s also a tactical “loner-nerdy-underdog” archetype I believe audiences have been conditioned to root for. Keeping that in mind allowed me to push edges and subvert some of those expectations. At the same time, I acted as Wolfe and attempted to keep my performance subdued, almost unnoticeable in a natural way — like he’s holding back throughout much of the film, suffocating a true self out of indecisiveness and awkwardness.

The film has compared itself to Whiplash, Raw, and Fight Club. Were these direct influences, or do you see Pinpoint carving its own lane in how it portrays obsession and decay?

I love these films and did draw upon aspects of each when shaping my own story. But I’d like to say PINPOINT carves its own lane. It has a flair of hyper-realism to it — a surreal reflection of life that is far more exaggerated and lively. That aspect is what makes PINPOINT feel fresh to me, along with how it plays with specific themes that connect the idea of addiction to obsession, and their similarly futile end in systematic triumphs. I also wanted to explore a more metamodern take on these great stories of self-destruction, especially set within the American college system — ones that don’t always end in tragedy, but in inevitable, bittersweet victory.

Editing and sound design are central to the film’s intensity. Can you walk us through how you approached these elements to keep the audience in Wolfe’s fragmented state of mind?

I wanted these macro-sequences and fast-cutting/hip-hop montages to feel unsettling as much as they are immersive. That synchronized editing + sound is meant to capture an absurd level of detail Wolfe feels and sees in his everyday life. It’s a psychotic POV of the world that emphasizes urgency, anxiety, and calculated danger — one that further pushes his, and thus our own, delusion of reality. To do this, I layered hundreds of SFX over nearly 200 tracks, along with keeping the pace and sequencing of the edit on an internal tempo. Ultimately, I needed the edit to feel pedantic and subjective in a way, as if the character of Wolfe were editing the film himself.

The gritty, visceral aesthetic almost makes the film feel like a fever dream. What choices in cinematography, lighting, or set design helped you achieve this texture?

Collaborating closely with my producer and DP, Hannah Ignacio, we drew inspiration from many 90s–2000s aesthetics, akin to a grunge, bleach-bypass, vibrant, 8:1 contrast look. Opting for cool tones and sickly yellow hues really contributed to this nightmarish fever feel. Shooting in real spaces also created a lived-in texture and authenticity that no set could replicate, especially on our budget. We ultimately augmented aspects of these locations to heighten specific grungy details, whether through scribbling chalk vandalism across peel-and-stick wallpaper, stacking massive fragments of art across bare walls, or just littering the floors with dirty laundry and debris.

The film’s pace is relentless at times. How did you balance that energy while still giving space for moments of reflection or character depth?

This was definitely a push and pull throughout. Initially, I discovered moments for intimacy would often linger on or around Wolfe, giving more insight into his psyche and allowing him to reflect on his environments. Many of those moments were seeded during writing but really took shape in the edit to enable more moments of catharsis. Overall, this evolved into a kind of “tension → release” rule in regard to ramping up internal conflict, and then forcing that element to wind down and let go whenever necessary, to accentuate an extra depth of emotion. Thinking this way through post, ultimately with Wolfe’s desires in mind, gave space for this nuance while keeping the momentum alive.

Given the rawness of the subject matter, how did the actors prepare for such demanding roles, both physically and emotionally?

Fortunately, for many intense scenes, it was myself acting alongside my creative and life partner Hannah Ignacio and a close friend, Luke Venegas. We each had an established dynamic that allowed for an ease of shorthand and a solid sense of comfort in some rather brutal moments of the film’s tension. Because of that baseline security — knowing we were in this together — it allowed access to more vulnerable, truer emotions. Likewise, much is owed to Pete Berwick for his portrayal of Dr. Reynard. His breadth of experience added significant professional and thoughtful layers to the character, including context beyond his screen time. Adding to that was Pete’s willingness and adaptability to handle complex shifting emotions toward Wolfe throughout, making me a better performer.

Looking ahead, do you see Pinpoint as a self-contained short, or could it be expanded into a feature-length story?

I am actually in the midst of expanding PINPOINT into a feature-length story! I would love to explore more of the Botkin University setting in a larger world and context, following other students under pressure as their stories collide with Wolfe’s morbid journey. There’s really so much left to explore in this space that I’m eager to tap into!

What are the books, podcasts or even YouTube Channel that you recommend young filmmakers get their hands on?

I definitely recommend the YouTube channels StudioBinder, ponysmasher, and Ian Hubert. I’d also say to check out the catalog of interviews from DP/30 and Collider. Some great books are, obviously, Rebel Without a Crew and The Visual Story by Bruce Block.

Can you share with us some of your favorite short films you’ve seen lately?

Absolutely! Some that come to mind are:

A Folded Ocean by Ben Brewer

H.A.G.S. (Watch on FS) by Sean Wang

My Year of Dicks (FS TOP 10 2023) by Sara Gunnarsdóttir

Fresh Guacamole by PES

A Concerto is a Conversation by Kris Bowers, Ben Proudfoot

Don’t Peek (Watch on FS) by Julian Terry