The number of podcasts and podcaster personalities has seen a massive boom in the past few years. It seems like a new one crops up every other day with something new to say under the guise of free speech. But it’s exactly this constitutional right that grants many folks a platform to push their agenda, creating a gray area that really presses moral boundaries. Enter The Mix, a hyper-stylish and ultra-critical take on modern-day podcasting and social media at large.
Popular podcast host Sean Palermo (Thomas Philip O’Neil) is having yet another edition of his show, Palermo’s Perspectives. His guest just so happens to be highly controversial clinical psychologist Dr. Janet Weddley (Brandice Peltier), joined by Professor Clive Mason Jr. (Grant Neale), amidst a hellish outcry on social media for Sean to shut Dr. Weddley out. Reasons vary, from reptilian conspiracies to common workplace gripes, but the focal point of the public’s hatred stems from an IQ-enhancing serum that Janet has been experimenting with. Together, these naysayers call themselves Project X-Tract, and let’s just say they aren’t willing to let Sean or Janet off the hook for their collaboration. The first to feel the impact of the group is Palermo’s trusted audio engineer Becca (Sophia Lucia Parola), whose internet feed is flooded with threats from Project X-Tract.
The Mix seems completely insane from the outside looking in, until you realize just how current it really is. In fact, you might argue that the story, by writer/director Christian La Morte, is a far milder version of what we see in our world these days. Either way you slice it, fear and misinformation are powerful tools, and it’s with those lingering thoughts in tow that the short ratchets up emotions to breaking point. Feeling overwhelmed, Becca requests that Palermo consider postponing, or even removing the podcast from the air.
La Morte knows what to look for in his frames, and that is brilliantly conveyed through the work of DP Anthony Altamura. Of course you have your typical podcast setup shots, but Altamura and set designer Brianna Mestre go the extra mile with the lighting team (Alex Seefried) to make the studio feel lived in, so that Becca isn’t just surrounded by a bunch of machines and gadgetry. Tension reigns supreme over every moment, from the rapid-fire editing style to the ever-tightening camerawork that makes the small studio environment feel unsafe. The fuse is lit from scene one, and time will tell as to when it reaches the powder keg. If you stick around for that, rest assured you won’t be let down by the finale!
The Mix comes as advertised, an ‘all-in’ commentary on podcast culture that puts its viewer at the epicenter of a social media frenzy where perspective matters. . . more than ever.
