JANUARY - a short film
January is a visual story of the internal struggle between feeling digestible to the viewer or true to oneself. We are constantly asking ourselves, am I good enough? We want the viewer to ask themselves- what am I setting out to do; whether that’s in life, in what we create, or however the piece speaks to you. The film is an experimental dance and philosophical narrative, following this character as she goes through her routine as a dancer and choreographer. Written by Taylor Venegas, she, I and Shannon, the sole actor of the film, collaborated on how to present this complex idea into a narrative that most viewers can follow and even possibly relate to. I wanted to focus on how to support her original script while suggesting additions to the narration or shots that supported the narrative.
We filmed January in January 2021, in the span of a week with minimal gear and crew. Everything was shot with a mirrorless camera, camcorder, or DSLR on a gimbal or handheld, recording audio with a zoom mic whenever we needed ambient noise. Andrew Bess created all the sound in this film, from the bed creaks to the experimental sounds to the instrumental piece at the end- he created everything to support the original script, writing from scratch as I edited the visuals. January was really a test of what you can do with a small budget and a few helping hands.
BTS video to show set design of the Fantasy scenes in January and the space we were working in.
Written, Directed and Production Design by Taylor Venegas
Choreography and Starring Role Shannon Stilwell
Narration by Kayla Ferrill
Cinematography and Editing by Erin Lyle
Assistant Cinematographer Bryce Devore
Composer, Sound Designer and Audio Editor Andrew Bess
Behind the Scenes Photography and Grip Rachel Haggerty
Grip Nathan Smedes