behind BLINK

While the story that takes place during the film "Blink" is immensely entertaining, the story behind "Blink" is equally interesting. "Blink" originally was never intended to be made into a feature film. Writer/Director Craig Miller was writing another project in October 2005 when he began to run into dead ends with that script. To get his mind off the writer's block he was experiencing, Miller put down some random ideas on paper about people in their 20's dealing with frustration -- the very thing that Miller (in his mid-20's) was dealing with himself. Those random ideas eventually turned into a series of short films, which blossomed into the feature script that became known as "Blink." Miller says, "Since day one of working in the film industry, everyone has told me to write what you know, write what you know, write what you know… I always thought it was a bullshit idea and a good writer could write about anything. However, once I starting getting my personal frustrations down on paper I saw that writing what you know is exactly what everyone should be doing."

After completing the entire script in just a few months, Miller faced the obstacle that every struggling filmmaker faces, how do you find the money to get a project made? "We had two choices, either A, try to fundraise for 2 years in order to get three to four million dollars or so, or B, just scrape together what we can and do the film on an ultra-low budget." Choosing the latter, Miller used his producing skills to budget, schedule, and cast the film himself. Bringing on longtime friend and filmmaking partner Greg O'Bryant as a producer and editor, the two of them formulated a plan to create an entire film for less than a million dollars.

The months of November and December were spent scraping together money. Miller went to a series of individuals that held a strong belief in the project and collected a small piece of the budget here, and a small piece there, until he accumulated enough money for the budget. The next step was performing the miracles Miller and O'Bryant had counted on to actually do a film for this small amount of money.

From January until May, Miller, O'Bryant and the other producers managed to phone in enough favors to collect a stellar crew, an up-and-coming cast, free locations, equipment, etc. All of this was done by incredibly talented people offering their services to the project, solely due to the strength of the script. "When we went to a lot of people for help, their first inkling was to say no. I told them all, read the script, then if you want to tell me no, that's fine. Then, just as I had hoped, no one turned me down after they read the material", Miller recalls.

The production strived above all else to make the movie feel like was specifically about the current generation of 20-something's. There is a whole generation of people who don't fall into Generation X or Generation Y -- they are the in-betweens. This generation is who the filmmakers decided to target as their core audience. By costuming characters in current hipster fashion and integrating songs in the film from bands such as The Walkmen, French Kicks, Sound Team, Mazarin (and over twenty other indie-rock bands), the film has a very specific feeling throughout which feels like any hip bar in the country. Miller explains, "Although we shot the film in Kentucky, and the fashion looks like LA or New York, that doesn't means the film takes place there. We purposely wanted to be ambiguous, embracing the idea that the film takes place wherever each audience member spent their 20-something years."

With thousands of independent films being made each year, it is a very tough road for any indie to make it into the mainstream. Especially since most "independent" films nowadays are made for millions dollars and usually star several actors from mainstream Hollywood. The "Blink" team set out to work against this trend. Not only was the film created for a lesser amount of money, but it did not star anyone who is perceived as “known talent.” By collecting a production team and cast that cared only about being true to the idea behind the film and by embracing gritty, stylized production values, "Blink" sets itself apart from all other independents as a true representation of the spirit of being lost in the disappointment of your mid 20's.

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