PRIMER is a mesmerizing thriller that introduces a gifted new filmmaker with an exciting new sensibility. Thirty-one-year-old Shane Carruth, a former engineer who spent three years teaching himself filmmaking, conceived, wrote, directed, edited, and scored PRIMER and also plays one of the lead roles. His impressive feature debut - set in the very world Carruth abandoned to make movies -- tells the story of two engineers who stumble upon a remarkable invention which changes their lives in unimaginable ways. Engrossing and provocative in its exploration of the dark side of human nature and science, PRIMER electrified audiences at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury Prize and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Award for films dealing with science and technology.
The story of the making of PRIMER is as unusual as the movie itself. Carruth, who had a degree in mathematics and worked briefly at three engineering companies, was unhappy with his career choice and decided he wanted to become a writer. He tried his hand at short stories and was halfway through a novel when he realized that he was more interested in working with images than with words. At this point, he made up his mind to pursue a career in film, even though he had no background in the subject.
Fortunately, Carruth's extensive training in math and science had made him proficient in problem-solving. He cleverly applied these skills to the study of filmmaking. "A lot of math isn't just the numbers," he explains. It's the fact that there is this problem that is seemingly unsolvable in front of you, and yet if you take it apart, it can be solved." Devising his own lesson plan, he taught himself screenwriting, directing, cinematography, sound mixing, editing, and acting. "I read a lot of scripts, just to see what they're supposed to look like, and I went to town writing," he recalls. To learn the basics of film production, Carruth visited production houses in his native Dallas, watched carefully, and asked lots of questions. He experimented with cameras and lighting and devised his own form of storyboarding. Most importantly, he worked on his script.
The inspiration for PRIMER came to Carruth at a time when he was reading books about discoveries. He observed that "whether it involved the history of the number zero or the invention of the transistor, two things stood out. First, the discovery that turns out to be the most valuable is usually dismissed as a side-effect. Second, prototypes almost never include neon lights and chrome. I wanted to see a story that was more in line with the way real innovation takes place."
