Work samples

  • The Search for Alexander

    A sample of my most recent project The Search for Alexander, which is currently in submission for multiple international festivals.

  • The Outsider

    The entirety of my film The Outsider, an experimental adaptation of the HP Lovecraft short story of the same name, which I only recently made publicly available on YouTube.

  • Machinations

    A sample from Machinations, a project I released on YouTube in 2022.

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About Zach

Howard County   2024 OTW Artist  

Zach Garrigus is a writer, producer, director, and sound recordist from Laurel, Maryland. His films usually revolve around open ended concepts of paranoia, the culturally iconic, and the socially bizarre, often by portraying classic genre imagery using modern cinematic techniques. Zach graduated from Stevenson University with a Bachelor of Science in Film and Moving Image in May, 2023, where his work won and received nominations for multiple awards in the school’s Stevie U 72 Hour Film… more

View Zach's Resume
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Second Home

Produced during the fall and winter of 2021, Second Home explores the relationship between Maryland's nearly 300 year old Saint Thomas Church and the surrounding community.

This was a very collaborative production between director Connor Drake (who previously codirected the award winning City Mist Production Last Call) and myself, with the two of us working together on the concept over the course of months, he shooting and editing most of our footage while I produced the project as a whole and recorded sound for a majority of filming.

  • Second Home

    Produced during the fall and winter of 2021, Second Home explores the relationship between Maryland's nearly 300 year old Saint Thomas Church and the surrounding community.

    This was a very collaborative production between director Connor Drake (who previously codirected the award winning City Mist Production Last Call) and myself, with the two of us working together on the concept over the course of months, he shooting and editing most of our footage while I produced the project as a whole and recorded sound for a majority of filming.

    •

    Showdown

    Shot over the course of two weeks, Showdown is a tribute to the spaghetti westerns of the 1960s and 1970s. Taking deliberate influence from the works of Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, and more modern directors like Quentin Tarantino, the film is structured around the quintessential western trope of the gunfight, building tension through a combination of sound and image until the bloody end.

    • Showdown
      Shot over the course of two weeks, Showdown is a tribute to the spaghetti westerns of the 1960s and 1970s. Taking deliberate influence from the works of Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, and more modern directors like Quentin Tarantino, the film is structured around the quintessential western trope of the gunfight, building tension through a combination of sound and image until the bloody end.
    • Showdown Script
      My original script for Showdown. When I write, I usually format a single action block for each shot that I envision in the finished film. This often results in my scripts being quite quickly paced despite their high page counts.
    • Showdown Shotlist
      A rough shotlist that I created during preproduction on Showdown. I like to have an idea of how every single shot in a film will look before I begin shooting, and this process of rewriting the film on paper in terms of shots instead of action has remained a useful technique on my more current projects.
    • Still #6
      Still #6
    • Still #5
      Still #5
    • Still #4
      Still #4
    • Still #3
      Still #3
    • Still #2
      Still #2
    • Still #1
      Still #1
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    • Machinations

    Machinations was shot during the spring of 2022, with post production taking place during the summer. Originally written, shot, and edited to the pace and mood of the song "Welcome to the Machine" by Pink Floyd, this song was eventually replaced in post with an original score by experimental musician Olivia Springberg.

    • Machinations
      Machinations was shot during the spring of 2022, with post production taking place during the summer. Originally written, shot, and edited to the pace and mood of the song "Welcome to the Machine" by Pink Floyd, this song was eventually replaced with an original score by Olivia Springberg, a first time City Mist Productions collaborator on this project.
    • Machinations Script
      My original script for Machinations. Most of the experimental cutaways to stock footage and disjunctive sound effects planned here were dropped in favour of a more traditional narrative during editing.
    • Still #6
      Still #6
    • Still #5
      Still #5
    • Still #4
      Still #4
    • Still #3
      Still #3
    • Still #2
      Still #2
    • Still #1
      Still #1
    •

    • The Outsider

    Produced during the summer of 2022 on a $2,500 budget provided by a grant from the Stevenson University School of Design, The Outsider is an abstract video montage, based on the short story of the same name by HP Lovecraft and deliberately shot and edited to the pace of the song "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" from progressive rock group Pink Floyd's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

    This song was then removed in post and composer Olivia Springberg was given total freedom in sculpting a score to complement the visuals of the resultant film.

    • The Outsider

      Produced during the summer of 2022 on a $2,500 budget provided by a grant from the Stevenson University School of Design, The Outsider is an abstract video montage, based on the short story of the same name by HP Lovecraft and deliberately shot and edited to the pace of the song "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" from progressive rock group Pink Floyd's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

      This song was then removed in post and composer Olivia Springberg was given total freedom in sculpting a score to complement the visuals of the resultant film. Featuring complex lighting and camera movements and professional prosthetic effects by makeup artist Lauren Anderson, this is the slickest and most well funded City Mist Production yet.

    • The Outsider Edit List
      Since The Outsider is such a visual project, I never wrote a traditional script for the project, instead writing out every shot in the order that I envisioned them being shown in the final film. This was the frame that my crew and I worked from throughout every stage of production.
    • Still #5
      Still #5
    • Still #4
      Still #4
    • Still #3
      Still #3
    • Still #2
      Still #2
    • Still #1
      Still #1
    •

    • The Search for Alexander

    The Search for Alexander was created as writer, producer, and director Zach Garrigus' senior capstone project at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Maryland. Heavily influenced by European slow cinema of the 1970s and the American New Hollywood movement of the 1980s, with the techniques of filmmakers like Andrei Tarkovsky, Werner Herzog, Ingmar Bergman, Brian De Palma, and Clint Eastwood referenced throughout, the film is representative of four years of work and study on the part of Garrigus and was shot on an entirely crowdfunded budget of almost $10,000.

    • The Search for Alexander

      The Search for Alexander was created as writer, producer, and director Zach Garrigus' senior capstone project at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Maryland.

      Heavily influenced by European slow cinema of the 1970s and the American New Hollywood movement of the 1980s, with the techniques of filmmakers like Andrei Tarkovsky, Werner Herzog, Ingmar Bergman, Brian De Palma, and Clint Eastwood referenced throughout, the film is representative of four years of work and study on the part of Garrigus and was shot on an entirely crowdfunded budget of almost $10,000.

    • The Search for Alexander Lined Script.pdf
      My original lined script for The Search for Alexander. The Banker character was eventually cut from the finished film.
    • The Search for Alexander Edit List
      On The Search for Alexander, I decided that my shotlists should be more accessible and easier for my crew to understand without reading my entire lined script. Therefore, I created an "edit list" to fulfil the purpose that my shot lists had on previous projects, mapping out the flow from shot to shot throughout the entire film.
    • The Search for Alexander Shot List
      My shot list for The Search for Alexander, which I felt should be more clearly formatted and easier for my crew to understand than my shot lists on previous projects.
    • The Search for Alexander Storyboards
      My very basic storyboards for The Search for Alexander.
    • BTS Still #6
      BTS Still #6
      Directing assistant camera Samantha Giordano on set for The Tavern segment of The Search for Alexander.
    • BTS Still #5
      BTS Still #5
      Making an adjustment to framing with cinematographer Connor Drake during filming for The Tavern segment of The Search for Alexander.
    • BTS Still #3
      BTS Still #3
      On set for The Tavern segment of The Search for Alexander.
    • BTS Still #2
      BTS Still #2
      Making an adjustment to camera with cinematographer Samantha Giordano and assistant camera Zhanna Snyder during filming for The Heath segment of The Search for Alexander.
    • BTS Still #1
      BTS Still #1
      Directing lead actor Benairen Kane on location for The Heath segment of The Search for Alexander
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    • One Shot

    A project in development since 2021, One Shot reunites much of the crew from writer/director Zach Garrigus' previous production The Search for Alexander in a single take crime/comedy blatantly inspired by films by directors like Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese. Filming was conducted over almost 15 takes over the course of a single night in October, 2023, while additional photography took place in early December.

    • One Shot

      A pair of talkative contract killers must settle their differences over a piece of childhood nostalgia to carry out a job.

      A project in development since 2021, One Shot reunites much of the crew from writer/director Zach Garrigus' previous production The Search for Alexander in a single take crime/comedy blatantly inspired by films by directors like Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese. Filming was conducted over almost 15 takes over the course of a single night in October, 2023, while additional photography took place in early December.

    • One Shot Lined Script
      My lined script for One Shot. Since this project was filmed entirely in a single take, I lined camera moves and positions here instead of standard shots.
    • One Shot Shot List
      My "Shot List" for One Shot, really just some basic notes on what each camera position throughout the film should look like since this project was filmed in a single take.
    • One Shot Storyboards
      My very basic storyboards for One Shot.