Eric Eppinger: Writer/Director of A NIGHT AT THE OFFICE (short)

1Q: Tell us a little about the origins of A NIGHT AT THE OFFICE, from concept to financing.

The idea for the story came from working at an office in the corporate world and not wanting to work my life away doing something I didn’t love. I was writing a feature script but wanted to write and direct a short film before making the jump to a feature. The film was self financed, it is relatively low budget since it was shot in one location with only two main characters.

2Q: What was your best and/or worst experience while making A NIGHT AT THE OFFICE?

I think the best experience was the feeling of accomplishment after we finished shooting. The idea had been in my head for a while so to be able to see it come together as I expected was a dream come true.

3Q: You’ve chosen to go the route of short film for A NIGHT AT THE OFFICE. What do you think are some unexpected differences and similarities in the making of a feature vs. short?

I think the big difference with a short is that you really have to economical with the script, you have to get right into the story from the beginning and show the audience where you are going, there isn’t as much room for character development, every line has to count.

4Q: Although short films are my favorite, they often have little chance of being seen by a wide audience, and an even smaller chance of gaining you fame and fortune. Now that you’re in the “easy” stage of filmmaking, the high of showing your film to an audience, was the making of A NIGHT AT THE OFFICE worth it? Will there be more films from you in the future and would you stick to the short format?

It is definitely “easy” to enjoy life on the festival circuit, and it is unfortunate that most shorts at festivals won’t have much of a life outside the circuit, I meet many people like you who come to festivals specifically for the shorts programs. So far I would say it was worth it, Cinequest is my second fest, we premiered in September at DC Shorts, and the response to my film has been great, hope to play a few more fests and then we’ll see what happens next with the film. I am almost finished with my feature script, hope to get that into production in the near future. I would do another short if I came across the right project.

5Q: This appears to be your first film, and your first film at Cinequest. How has your experience been here so far, as a filmmaker? What advice do you have for future filmmakers at Cinequest?

This is my first short, and first time at Cinequest, I have been blown away by the whole experience, the audiences have been great, we had an almost full theatre for our shorts program on a Sunday morning at 10 am.  Cinequest does a fantastic job of arranging VIP meet ups and soirees in the evenings, I would advise all filmmakers to go to the networking events and meet as many fellow filmmakers as you can; you never know what opportunities that may lead to in the future, also try to see as many films as you can so you can get an idea of what types of films a top discovery festival like Cinequest programs.

Buy tickets to see A NIGHT AT THE OFFICE in the short program at Cinequest!