Listen Then Repeat — Jasper Martin's AI-hotline short

Constraint and solution

Constraint: a single location and one on-screen performer. Solution: treat the film as a staged two-person scene — lead actor Ruby Blinkhorn against a live, off-screen AI operator — and use music and camera rules to change the room’s energy.

Practically, that meant putting production assistant Cameron Greenlees in another room with a laptop and cueing software to answer the phone in real time. The PA modulated timing and interruptions on request so director Jasper Martin could provoke reactions: “This time, cut her off, really try to frustrate her.” Music by James Tate was played on set to set tempo and later became the edit’s engine. The shoot was split into two halves: a frenetic, handheld daytime section close on the actor, then a night section shot locked off through a mirror for a disembodied feel. Martin edited for performance economy — staying on shots unless energy, stakes or a reveal demanded a cut — then conformed takes tightly to the score. He encouraged Ruby to improvise and "dirty up the dialogue," rewrote and reshot the prologue and epilogue after feedback, and used simple editorial tricks (watching in black-and-white, trusted peer screenings) to regain perspective.

Crew and roles

• Writer / Director / Editor: Jasper Martin
• Lead actor: Ruby Blinkhorn
• Cinematographer: Julian Pertout
• Composer: James Tate
• Production assistant (off‑screen AI): Cameron Greenlees

Kit & shoot days

• Camera: not stated
• Lens: not stated
• Format: not stated
• Frame rate: not stated
• Aspect ratio: not stated
• Shoot days: not stated

"Stammering and struggling to find the right word and string a sentence together is what ultimately makes us human."
— Jasper Martin, writer/director

"This film is a cautionary tale about placing your trust in amorphous infrastructure."
— Jasper Martin, writer/director