Candlelight II

Candlelight II is a 2019 short film from Mike Barkhoff, seeing him reflect on his stage as an artist, namely following the release of lauded projects such as Candlelight and Into the Wild. He finds himself questioning if he'll be able to produce something to that quality again.

Notably, Candlelight II was Barkhoff's first project following his 2019 creative hiatus. Though it was not the first filmed; that title goes to the unreleased "Drown".

Conception
Barkhoff had the idea to make something personal for his return film. Initially, he chose "Drown" due to seeing what he described as a "cheesy message at the end of a something or another". Unhappy with "Drown", he decided to embark on this. It was influenced by Shady Records' collaborative album, ShadyXV, notably the song "Fine Line".

Marketing
The poster was released two days prior to the film. The film was a premiere event on YouTube.

Clothing
Barkhoff wore clothing suitable for what he did in the film. Laying back, he wore shaggy clothes. When recording or preparing to film, it was more upbeat and colorish and stylish. When talking to his therapist, it was a simple grey sweatshirt. Barkhoff also used jewelry to highlight the tone of the film, as this matched the phase of his jewelry wearing.

Nautica clothing, his favorite line, was featured prominently here.

Reception
Candlelight II received rave reviews. Many weren't turned off by the fact it didn't end up being a sequel, saying "the story was heavy enough".

Legacy
Barkhoff enlisted a similar "talking to a wall in place of therapist in the scene" technique in Doppelgang.