marvel one-shots

The idea behind these and other Marvel short films (or “OneShots”) is that the feature films only give the general public a window into the gigantic mythical universe that’s been intricately woven in decades of comic books. So the OneShots offer glimpses into other parts of the universe; seemingly random moments in the lives of characters that don’t often get to stand in the spotlights of the feature films.

Since these two films were centred on a character called AGENT COULSON (portrayed by the excellent CLARK GREGG), a highly trained special agent of the top-secret organisation S.T.E.A.L.T.H, my approach to interpreting the scripts was to mirror Coulson’s efficient, no-bullshit, decidedly not fancy style in the film’s parameters. Meaning that camera angles and framing were to be mostly dominated by clear geometry, at times very flat side or frontal views, and that the camera also didn’t do anything more fancy than a unidirectional dolly move. I also opted to go with as little VFX as possible, not only due to budget, but also because I wanted the films to have a working-man aesthetic, something honest, clean, and down to earth that would communicate Coulson’s ethics implicitly.

We shot both films on location in Palmdale, CA. Art department cleared an actual, functional gas station and dressed it overnight. The diner scenes were shot in a diner set on wheels. We shot through two nights and one day. We edited for a few weeks at Marvel Studios in Manhattan Beach.

The full OneShots are on the Thor and Captain America Blurays.

Copyright Marvel Studios
Studios Producer: Kevin Feige
Co-Producer: Brad Winderbaum
Director: Abed Abonamous
Cast: Clark Gregg, Maximiliano Hernández, Deborah Knox, Jessica Manuel, Jeff Prewett, Zach Hudson
Production: The Ebeling Group ( theebelinggroup.com )
Producers: Danelle Hand, Martha Smith
Writer: Eric Pearson
DP: David Myrick ( davidmyrick.com )
AD: Colleen Cortes
Shot on Location in Palmdale, CA in February 2011