RABBIT'S FOOT — Kino Short Film

A man's dependency on an obscure future device causes him to lose sight of what is real.

Rabbit’s Foot is about a man waiting on his luck to change, and instead of doing something for himself, he devotes himself to the first thing that arrives at the door. The arrival of a futuristic head sphere represents the plague of distractions we face like social media, news, phones, tv. Rabbit’s Foot becomes this cautionary tale about the dangers of not relying on yourself to find purpose.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FILMMAKING BACKGROUND:

I grew up working in my grandfather’s cotton and rice fields. In the times away from the toils of farm-life, I would make dumb videos with my friends. When I say dumb, I mean dumb. Our intentions were not to make anything of it, we just enjoyed hanging out and filming each other doing stupid shit. I honestly thought my path was to be a farmer. The work was hard, but I didn't mind, and at some point, it would have been a good living.

I remember in high school looking into film schools, never thinking of it as a serious option. It wasn’t until I visited my twin brother attending college for a degree in sculpture that he talked me into applying to their small TV and Film program. Two weeks before the start of the semester I applied and got accepted. I broke the news to my grandpa then would head off towards a BA degree that I would never receive. I dropped out of college after 2 or 3 years thanks to my internship with Bruton Stroube Studios getting me consistent freelance work. This all eventually leading to a full-time place at Bruton Stroube.

Being at Bruton on large sets built up my confidence to try stuff on my own. I would experiment with music videos, but always wanted to tackle something narrative. My first attempts will never see the light of day, but helped prepare me for my film Rabbit’s Foot".

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR FILM?:

The image of a man sitting on a bed with a large sphere on his head was the first visual that not only started the writing process but set the tone of the film. I wanted to know more about this man and understand how he arrived in this situation, and for me to do that, I had to look at myself.

The optics of my life looked great. I have a cool job, a great wife, an amazing daughter, but I felt stuck. Not from any of these things, but creatively. I had to look at the cause. I concluded that it was my time away from reality, the time stuck in my phone. My phone had become an obstacle. Instead of writing, spending time with my family, or advancing my career. I would spend a few hours escaping into YouTube or social media. This became the large sphere on the man's head. Once I had that I wanted to create a story that lasted beyond it’s screen time.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BRING THIS FILM TO LIFE AND WHAT OBSTACLES DID YOU OVERCOME ALONG THE WAY?:

Seeing this film come together was a surreal experience. I felt as if the cast, crew, and post department where entirely in sync with my vision, elevating it along the way.

Most of the obstacles were caused by location and time. On our first day, first shot, a paving crew came in to repave the parking lot. We were set up for the establishing shot and had to have Casey Nation our AD ask if they could come back on another day. We were also filming in a pretty seedy hotel, so we had some minor issues with the tenants to resolve. For the time aspect, since we had a tiny budget, the principal photography had to be captured in a weekend, so that forced us to do some Night for Day, and Day for Night scenes that had to match up.

DID YOU HAVE ANY CREATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR CREATING QUALITY CONTENT ON A MINIMAL BUDGET:

First and foremost, collaboration is key. Everyone that worked on this was all in. No one was getting paid, so set had to be fun, and everyone had to be well feed. For me, that is important. We forget to step back and look at how fortunate it is we get to make something cool, so I like to keep it collaborative and listen.

The other solution was to keep the story contained in a single location.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS:

For me, it's writing the first page and getting my collaborators excited to tackle this beast with me.

ANY FILM RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAN WATCH TO KEEP US BUSY WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING:

Shoplifters is a fantastic Japanese film that has stuck with me recently. It’s this great family drama that tests the old adage “blood is thicker than water”. I felt like a fly on the wall into this family’s world. The acting and dialogue was so real I felt as if I was an intruder.

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