THE GUNFIGHTER

‘What if you could hear the narrator?’

NARRATIVE

“In a small town in the old west, a lone and weary gunfighter enters a saloon. As he walks through the room surrounded by the people of the town, a voice begins narrating the scene, telling us exactly who this gunfighter is.

But unlike every classic western to use the narrator trope, the characters in this film can hear the voice. This omniscient narrator quickly begins divulging the deepest, darkest secrets of the people in the saloon. He exposes infidelity, homosexuality, prejudice and even a bit of bestiality. As the story unfolds it becomes evident that the voice is a bloodthirsty bastard that wants nothing more than to see the people of the town kill each other in a needless gunfight.” – MAGNETFILM

BACKGROUND

• The film cost just under $25,000 and was inspired by Western TV series Deadwood. 
• Voice over: narrated by Nick Offerman 

GENRE

The generic conventions of a western usually involve:

• Bar fights
• Guns
• Low key lighting (inside)
• Ominous music

The concept of the film is extremely unique. It intertwines the conventions of both western and comedy in order to create this short film. The way the film explores the concepts that viewers would classify as “external” issues such as background music, are spoken about within the film, gives it a feel of a sitcom.