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Title: January Man
Runtime: 4 min
Country: USA
Director: Michael Rababy
Placement: Award of Excellence
Competition: June, 2015
Synopsis: January Man is a whimsical thought poem of a guy pondering his new years resolutions.
OR: What was the inspiration for your film?
MR: I tried to clear my head in January to work on a feature script. I do yoga and deep breathing to clear my head. Afterward, I went to a library to write and this idea came to me as a stream of consciousness. I was probably procrastinating on the larger feature script I was there to work on, but I’m glad I got something out of it.
OR: When did you conceive the idea for your film and how long did it take before it was realized?
MR: I wrote the poem in January then turned it into a script. We shot it in June and it was completed by September. My ace editor, Brad Jones, was working a full-time (paid) editing gig while remodeling his home (by himself) and cut January Man at the same time. The man is a machine. One wild card was the soundtrack. The music was created by Dan Barrio based on vague ideas I had in my head. Usually I know what music I want to edit to when I’m writing, but not this time. I brought Dan some sound samples and he didn’t think he was the guy for the job, then created something brilliant. He’s very modest and extremely talented.
OR: What was the most challenging aspect of working in a short film format?
MR: Since there’s not much revenue in short films, it’s really a labor of love – meaning we had no money to work with. So we had no money to hire a crew. I came from a public access / DIY background, so I’m used to it, but it’s a challenge to produce and direct at the same time. Luckily with technology today you can do a lot with a tight crew – but I wanted to make a very short film since most people are watching things on their phone and easily distracted. Even three minutes can feel like a lot to ask for.
OR: What was the most challenging aspect of your production?
MR: We shot most of the film in one long, grueling day. Our director of photography (Frederick Schroeder) was also directing a feature, so we were lucky to have him. Tanc Sade (the lead), was training for a free-diving championship and was hard to schedule as well, so we had one day to hit all the locations. I believe 8 locations total.
OR: Do you have any advice for first-time filmmakers?
MR: Read a lot, watch a lot of films, and live a life worth examining.