8.5 / 10
One Minute Time Machine is one of the cleanest time travel short films ever made. Seen it many times. The 8.5 rating is honest evaluation. Devon Avery directing his own script. Erinn Hayes and Brian Dietzen as the two characters on a park bench. Six minutes of runtime that contains a complete romantic comedy structure. Available free on YouTube where it has accumulated over twenty million views since release. A demonstration of what tightly constrained short-form filmmaking can accomplish.
The Setup
James (Brian Dietzen) sits on a park bench next to Regina (Erinn Hayes). He attempts to start a conversation. Regina rebuffs him politely. He presses a button on a small device attached to his belt. Time rewinds approximately one minute. He is back on the bench with no memory of having spoken. He has access to information about what the previous conversation produced.
The device is a one-minute time machine. James uses it repeatedly to perfect his approach. He learns what Regina responds to. He learns what causes her to reject him. He iterates through dozens of conversations. The film shows the iterations in fast-cut sequence. Some attempts crash and burn. Some produce slight improvements. The arc moves toward an approach that might actually work.
The film runs six minutes. The setup, the iterations, the reveal, and the resolution all fit. The pacing is the achievement. Every moment delivers narrative content. Nothing is wasted.
The Reveal
The film’s structural twist occurs in the fifth minute. Regina catches James using the device. The catch is not because she saw the button press. The catch is because she has her own device. She has been doing the same thing he has. She has been resetting their conversation when his responses did not satisfy her.
The reveal recontextualizes everything the audience has seen. James was not the only person testing approaches. Regina was testing him. The conversations the audience watched as James’s iterations were also Regina’s iterations. Both of them have been using time machines to court each other simultaneously. Neither knew the other was doing it.
The reveal is the film’s argument. Connection between people requires multiple attempts. The successful version is the one that works for both parties. Both parties have been testing the other. The film makes the mutual testing literal through the time travel premise. The structure is metaphor that has been animated into the plot. The audience receives the metaphor as both story and as commentary on real courtship.
For Writers
One Minute Time Machine shows how to fit a complete structure into six minutes. The film has a setup, an escalation, a reveal, and a resolution. None of the four elements is rushed. The discipline required is enormous. Every line of dialogue serves multiple functions. Every iteration of the conversation provides new information while also being entertaining on its own. The lesson for writers is that short-form work requires more structural rigor than long-form work, not less. Long forms can hide weak structure behind elaboration. Short forms expose every structural choice. If your six-minute short does not hold together, the failure is visible. If your six-minute short does hold together, you have demonstrated something most feature filmmakers cannot demonstrate.
The Erinn Hayes Performance
Erinn Hayes plays Regina across approximately twenty different versions of the same conversation. The performance is the foundation of the film. Each version of Regina has to feel distinct enough that the iterations register as different attempts. Each version has to feel consistent enough that the audience accepts she is the same character. Hayes manages both requirements.
The Regina performance also has to land the reveal. The audience needs to believe that Regina has been doing the same thing James has been doing. Hayes plants seeds of this throughout the early iterations. Small reactions that read as natural on first viewing read as deliberate tests on rewatch. The audience can go back and identify the moments where Regina was running her own experiments. The double-layered performance is the kind of work most short films do not attempt.
Hayes was best known at the time of filming for her work on Childrens Hospital (2008-2016), where she played Lola Spratt. Her subsequent career has continued in television including Kevin Can Wait (2016-2018) and various other productions. The One Minute Time Machine short is one of her most viewed individual performances because of the film’s massive YouTube circulation.
The Brian Dietzen Performance
Brian Dietzen plays James as a man trying to do something most men try to do, which is talk to a woman in a public space and have the conversation go well. The performance is recognizable. The character is not a creep. The character is not particularly skilled either. He is an ordinary man who happens to have access to time travel and is using the access for an ordinary purpose.
The performance carries the comedy through the iterations. Each failed attempt has to be funny without making James seem pathetic. Dietzen plays the failures with a kind of weary self-recognition. He knows the previous version did not work. He is trying a different approach. The audience laughs at the attempts because Dietzen lets the audience see his own awareness of how they are landing.
Dietzen is best known for his long-running role as Jimmy Palmer on NCIS, which he has played since 2004. The One Minute Time Machine short is a different register than his procedural television work. The performance demonstrates a range that his standard casting has not consistently exploited.
The Devon Avery Direction
Devon Avery wrote and directed One Minute Time Machine as part of a Funny or Die comedy initiative. The film was produced for approximately $15,000. The production constraint forced economical choices. One bench. Two actors. A simple park location. The time travel mechanism is a small belt-mounted device that requires no visual effects beyond the cut.
The direction is precise. Every shot serves a structural purpose. The pacing across the six minutes is tight without being rushed. The film respects the audience enough to leave some setups for the audience to put together rather than explaining everything. The economy is the technique.
Avery has continued working in short-form and commercial filmmaking since One Minute Time Machine. The short itself was not a launching pad to feature work in the way some short films become. It remains a stand-alone achievement. The film has been studied in screenwriting and film school programs as an example of compressed structure done correctly.
For Writers
One Minute Time Machine uses the time travel premise as metaphor that has been animated into plot. The film is about how real courtship works. People test approaches. People adjust based on feedback. People sometimes need multiple attempts before they connect. The time travel makes the testing literal. The audience receives the metaphor as both story and as commentary. The lesson for writers is that high-concept premises work better when they are doing thematic work in addition to plot work. If your high concept is just a plot engine, your high concept is decoration. If your high concept is also an externalization of a real human experience, your high concept earns its presence. The science fiction is the metaphor for the actual subject. The actual subject is two people trying to connect.
The YouTube Distribution
One Minute Time Machine was released on YouTube. The film has accumulated over twenty million views since 2014. The distribution model is part of the film’s significance. Short films historically depended on festival circuits for visibility. YouTube distribution allowed a six-minute film with no theatrical release to reach an audience larger than most independent features.
The free distribution also affected how the film was consumed. Viewers could watch it multiple times at no marginal cost. The reveal at the five-minute mark rewards rewatching. The audience that watched the short three or four times to study the iterations made the film a viral object rather than a one-time consumption. The repeat viewing supported the film’s longevity in cultural memory.
The model has been imitated. Subsequent short films have used YouTube distribution to reach audiences directly. Some have succeeded. Most have not. One Minute Time Machine remains one of the cleaner examples of what the model can do when the underlying work is strong enough to support the viral spread.
For Writers
One Minute Time Machine demonstrates that a short film can earn extended life through structural design that rewards rewatching. The reveal at the five-minute mark makes the first four minutes more interesting on second viewing. The audience returns because the film delivers different information the second time even though no frame has changed. The lesson for writers is that planning for rewatch is different from planning for first watch. If your work delivers everything on first watch, your audience moves on after one viewing. If your work delivers additional layers on subsequent viewings, your audience comes back. The economics of streaming and viral distribution favor work that rewards return engagement. Building that capability into the structure is a deliberate craft choice. Most short films do not make the choice. One Minute Time Machine does, and the choice produced over twenty million views.
The Ending
Regina reveals her own time machine and stops resetting their conversation. They sit on the bench together. They have arrived at a version of the conversation that works for both of them. They smile at each other. The film cuts to black. The runtime is approximately six minutes.
The ending refuses to extend itself. The film could have continued with a date sequence, a relationship montage, or a closing voice-over. None of those extensions would have improved the film. The ending lands by ending. The audience receives the connection moment and the film is done. Most filmmakers would have padded. Avery cut.
The discipline of the ending is the film’s signature. The whole film operates on the principle that less is more. The ending is the principle taken to completion. The audience leaves the film wanting more, which is the correct way to leave a short. The film is six minutes long because six minutes is exactly enough. Adding minutes would have produced a worse film.
Craft: A Foundational Short Film Achievement
Craft Note
One Minute Time Machine is one of the cleanest time travel short films ever made. The Avery script delivers complete structure in six minutes. The Hayes and Dietzen performances carry the comedy and the romance simultaneously. The reveal at the five-minute mark recontextualizes everything that preceded it. The YouTube distribution gave the film a viewer base most feature productions cannot match.
The film has been used in film school curricula as an example of compressed structure. The six-minute runtime contains setup, escalation, reveal, and resolution. Each element receives appropriate development. None is rushed. None is padded. The work demonstrates what tightly constrained short-form filmmaking can accomplish when the writer-director understands the form’s specific requirements.
The 8.5 rating reflects honest evaluation across many viewings. The film does not reach 9 because the format constraints prevent the deeper character work a feature could attempt. The structural achievement is undeniable. The film is essential viewing for anyone interested in time travel cinema, short-form filmmaking, or romantic comedy structure.
The Verdict
An 8.5. One Minute Time Machine is one of the cleanest time travel short films ever made. Devon Avery writing and directing. Erinn Hayes and Brian Dietzen on a park bench. Six minutes of complete structure. Available free on YouTube. The film belongs in any conversation about what short-form filmmaking can accomplish.
FAQ
How long is the film?
Approximately six minutes. The runtime includes the setup, the iterations, the reveal, and the resolution. The discipline of the runtime is part of the film’s achievement.
Where can I watch it?
Free on YouTube. The film has accumulated over twenty million views since its 2014 release. The free distribution is part of the film’s significance.
How does the time travel mechanism work?
A small belt-mounted device that resets time approximately one minute. The user retains memory of what happened during the minute. Other people do not. The mechanism is treated as accepted technology rather than explained in detail. The film does not need the explanation.
What is the reveal at the end?
Regina has her own time machine. She has been resetting the conversation when James’s responses did not satisfy her. Both characters have been using time travel to court each other simultaneously. Neither knew the other was doing it.
Who is Erinn Hayes?
An American actress best known for Childrens Hospital (2008-2016), Kevin Can Wait (2016-2018), and various other television work. Her One Minute Time Machine performance is one of her most viewed individual performances because of the film’s massive YouTube circulation.
Who is Brian Dietzen?
An American actor best known for his long-running role as Jimmy Palmer on NCIS, which he has played since 2004. The One Minute Time Machine short demonstrates a comedic register his standard casting has not consistently exploited.
What is the production budget?
Approximately $15,000. The film was produced for the Funny or Die comedy initiative. The constraint forced economical choices that benefited the work.
How does this compare to other time travel shorts?
One Minute Time Machine sits alongside The Lake House short and various other tightly constrained time travel pieces. The mutual time travel reveal is the specific contribution that distinguishes One Minute Time Machine. Few other shorts have used the premise for the same kind of romantic comedy structure.
Should I watch this if I have not seen it?
Yes. The film is free, six minutes long, and one of the cleanest short film achievements of the 2010s. The structural discipline rewards careful viewing. The reveal rewards rewatching. The film is the kind of short that deserves its widespread cultural circulation.