ELLIPSUS: EMBOSS - Our first short film

This week, we’re sharing our first ever Ellipsus short film.

It’s spooky season, and being a writer these days can definitely feel a little scary: Endless AI slopification, undead chatbots lurking everywhere, ominous algos in the walls… the sense that creative work is being sucked into a vast netherverse and spat back out to feed the slop machine.

In this uncanny valley, how can human writers show the world that their work is theirs, without leaving it up to black-box verifiers, or pure suspicion, to decide what counts as human?

The good news is—there’s a way out. And it leads back to other people. Writers and friends championing each other; those communities choosing to value the process behind the things we make.

You know… normal human things.

That’s what we set out to build with Emboss—a way to stand behind writers, to help preserve trust in human work (without monstrous machines passing judgment on our beloved em dashes).

Emboss is the latest tool we’ve designed to make creative labor visible, and put trust back in the hands of human creatives and their audiences. And by the way, in case you missed it, the Emboss Writing Journey is now free for all Ellipsus users! Learn more about the feature and how to use for your work it here.

This Emboss short film embodies all of that one spooky, cinematic thesis statement. Written, shot, and produced by us and our wonderful collaborators: everyone who helped us make it knows just what it feels like to be a creative right now.

Check it out.

An Ellipsus x Sonnabend Films Production

Directed by: Allegra Rosenberg & Katharine White
DP: Katharine White
Written by: Allegra Rosenberg
Starring: Allegra Rosenberg, R. Fenstermacher, Noriko Sato, Kofi Miller, Eva Amor
1st AD: Eva Molina
Associate Producer: Lars Knight

Steadicam Operator: Brian Murphy
1st AC: Lana Stepanova
Camera PA: Katie Kirk

Gaffer: Brian Murphy
Key Grip: Adam Collier
Swing G&E: Jake Shoop
Sound: Julia McGill
Hair and Makeup Artist: Amanda Braz
Wardrobe: Olivia Kirschbaum
Wardrobe Assistant: Liv Rivera
Production Designer: Laine Elliott
Lead PA: Miles Calderon
Set PA: Leo Wang

Editor: Leah Turner @ Work Editorial
Assistant Editor Kianah McWilson
VFX: Dave Levine @ Breakaway Post
Color: Dave Levine @ Breakaway Post
Color: Dan Swierenga

Special Thanks: Janet Cardone Westcott & the Ridgewood Democratic Club, Sara Hinkley, Sal Giarratano & Panavision, Sarah Lew, Brian Murphy, Dave Levine / Breakaway Post and Leah Turner