Every scene with the gravediggers in the cemetery and half of the bar scene were all improvised. Jermaine Wells, the character of Alan, brilliantly created a new hilarious scenario to discuss for every take, which Michael Scarnati wanted to implement over his own scripted dialogue, deeming it more natural.
The film was shot almost entirely in Yonkers, NY over a four full day schedule in mid-December 2017. The cast and crew would arrive at the cemetery in the early morning/afternoon and shoot the whole day, then break for two hours and shoot the apartment scenes at night for another 3-4 hours. The bar scene was pushed to mid March 2018 and shot in one night. Needless to say, the cast and crew were exhausted and freezing from the cold weather after the first four day shoot.
The FaceTime scenes were shot over two nights- in the same apartment. David Joseph Volino, playing Lewis, sat in the bedroom while Ana Marie Calise, playing Maya, was just 30 feet away in the kitchen area on a separate computer. The crew took a big wool blanket and taped it to C-stands in between the bedroom and the hallway to the kitchen area so that sound wouldn't be an issue. Director Michael Scarnati wanted David and Ana to meet and get to know each other seeing they were playing a couple as opposed to just having them run through the scenes in two different locations.
This film is writer/director Michael Scarnati's senior thesis film for the SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory, completed in May of 2018. He says that this film is thus far the most personal film he has ever written and directed in his career. The film is meant to speak to victims of mental illness, specifically depression and separation anxiety.
Michael Scarnati originally came up with the idea in January of 2017, right before he went into production for his junior thesis film. He wrote a 30 page script for his screenwriting class over three months, then re-wrote and cut a lot of scenes out over that summer. The final script was completed in November 2017, just three weeks before shooting began.