“January” Production Diary #7

January Teaser/Trailer from Brent Eickhoff on Vimeo.

The teaser for “January” is up. We have finished 99% of the filming—all we need to do is get one final, aerial shot on a highway, and we will be done. It is in the process of being edited, currently; it looks like we’ll meet our deadline.

The teaser/trailer went online last night relatively late, but already I’ve been getting positive feedback. People are commenting that it looks “so good” and “really interesting.” My grandma commented that it looks “very professional,” most of which I credit to the wonderfully strong performances by my actors, and the excellent cinematography/color grading from Dan Edwards. Never before have a realized how much of a difference a colorist can make on a film. Adding all of the wonderful contrast and saturation that you see in the teaser above, changes footage that already looked nice into footage that truly pops. Props to the pop-meister himself for some excellent work with Final Cut Pro’s color correcting utilities.

Overall, I’m getting lots of buzz about the film after the release of this preview. People are asking me when it will be finished, when they get to see the final project, and are asking if they can be invited to a screening of it. I’m beginning to think that between the screening strictly for actors/crew and the (hopeful) debut at FrogBaby Film Festival, we might get a screening for other people who’ve been showing interest. But that’s a question for another day! For now, I’m just excited at the interest that the film is getting—it’s certainly a project that is very close to me, and I’m sort of concerned that it won’t appeal to the general masses. It isn’t a comedy; it isn’t an action film; it relies on the performances of actors and the words that they’re saying more than camera gimmicks or special effects; it will be competing against films that fit some of those other descriptions. Yes, I know that as long as I am happy with the finished product, that’s all that truly matters, but I really hope that others will be able to connect with this film as much as some of the cast and crew have.

Needless to say, all of this excitement is getting me more excited about something I was already excited about. I need to get going on finishing my next screenplay, Anamnesis!

I’m a filmmaker.

LOVE,

BRENT