Whatever this is. follows Sam (Hunter Canning) and Ari (Dylan Marron), two production assistants in New York, and Lisa (Madeline Wise), Sam's girlfriend.
Sam and Ari are scraping by working on low or unpaid video production gigs thrown their way by Oscar (Ross Hamman), an existentially grumpy middle-man at a small production company. Making rent is hard enough; they barely have time to sneak toward their personal goals and personal lives in their off-hours.
Lisa is a teacher and therefore unemployed for the summer. A chance encounter puts her on the road to a possible summer job, but she's not sure where it could lead - or if she's even qualified.
Whatever this is. asks a tough question: how long are you expected to do work that you hate, for pennies, until it becomes something that you love that pays the rent? Is it even possible?