You’ve likely seen the work of director Josh Whiteman over the past few years, even if you didn’t know it. He’s the Josh behind the series Live at Josh’s House, he crafted the Lynchian music video for Full Mood’s “Beats Me” as well as the subversive overt sexuality of Heaven Honey’s video for “Honeydew“… just to name a few. There’s plenty more to investigate from here if you’re interested, which you certainly should be. On top of all of that he also operates a production company called Tiny Man Productions that releases original short films. We’re happy to premiere the latest creation from that undertaking entitled Ignoramus.
The ten minute piece follows a silent protagonist through a series of strange interactions. The titular Ignoramus meets some tourists who attempt to get their picture taken by him unsuccessfully, he meets an excited suitor and goes home with her for drinks. He maintains an onscreen silence and continuously (and quite mysteriously) plops in eyedrops through the duration. However, the plot itself isn’t the point. While viewing there is an ever increasing sense of building tension crafted expertly by Whiteman’s use of music, long held shots and those damn eyedrops. Will this character become completely unhinged? Are we on the precipice of witnessing some untold violence? Will those eyedrops reveals themselves to be a calming solution to some untold burning rage?
Spoiling the ending wouldn’t be very nice of us, so we’ll refrain from giving away how it all turns out but if you happen to call it before it happens; please get in touch. You deserve an award.
Whiteman has proven through his involvement with the music community that he’s able to craft a subtle story through the visual medium. The aforementioned overt sexuality of the Heaven Honey video is a testament to his ability to send a message without explicitly stating the message. With Ignoramus, Whiteman continues to show off his visual style and, more importantly, prove that he’s masterful at manipulating your emotions.