Infrared Film Spotlight

Today’s film spotlight focuses on the feature film Infrared directed by Robert Livings and Randy Nundlall Jr.

What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?

Our film is called ‘Infrared’ due to the fake-show within the film being titled Infrared. The inspiration came from the fact that we wanted to shoot a lot of the film in night vision mode, but we thought ‘Infrared’ sounded like a cooler title.

Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.

‘Infrared’ tells the story of a paranormal investigator who is trying to get a television show of the ground, similar to any of those other ghost hunting television shows out there. Things aren’t necessarily going to plan and he’s not happy with what he’s filming, so the producer he hired decides to shake things up by getting his sister involved, of whom he had a falling out with years prior when they worked together.

I had just made a film with Randy (Infrared’s co-director) called ‘The Other Girl’, and we were looking to make something completely different for our next film. Both of us are big horror fans, so we started throwing around ideas. Initially the concept wasn’t pitched as a found-footage style film, but due to limitations we were facing because of COVID and new lockdowns coming into place, we decided to take that path. Going the found-footage route allowed our cast to be crew also, so we were able to keep things small and it really helped us keep a creative and safe set running during a time where it was really difficult to get a film made.

Any films or filmmakers that inspired this film?

We watched a lot of different found-footage films in the lead up to filming Infrared, and different moments in different films consistently inspired how we would approach specific scenes. The standout films for us within the sub-genre are: Lake Mungo, The Taking of Deborah Logan, Hell House LLC, Grave Encounters, Willow Creek, and of course, The Blair Witch Project.

What is the goal of the film for you?

Our goal for this film was to make a horror film that focusses on character first, then the scares second. We strongly believed that if we made a horror film where the audience cared about its core characters, the scares would develop organically. We never wanted this to be a film where the audience is just yelling at the screening saying, “just hurry up and die already!” Because they didn’t like a certain character.

What has the journey been like getting the film into production?

We were lucky with this film, in that we had the location before we even began writing the outline. Often that’s not the case, so we had this creepy building where we could visit and map out everything that we wanted to do. Getting the building was a challenge as it was through a school district in Sacramento, but my wife is a teacher so she was able to figure out the ins and outs of who we needed to speak to and convince that we’d treat the place respectfully.

Once we had the location in place, our co-producer Travis Ayers brought Greg Sestero (The Room) on board, and the ball just got rolling from there. We had also worked with Jesse Janzen and Leah Finity on ‘The Other Girl’ and they were already attached to the project.

This was one of those rare shoots where most things just fell into place as we had planned.

One thing you learned from this project?

The found-footage genre is alive and well. It seems as though a lot of people have written this sub-genre off due to an influx of Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity copycats that studios banked on after their releases, but we’ve found a community online that is so supportive of these films and eagerly await each release.

How can folks find you and your film online?

Our film will hit VOD on July 22nd, followed by the Terror Films AVOD channel July 29th, and Kings of Horror channel August 5th.

Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?

Just make movies. So many filmmakers I speak to get caught up in the writing phase and don’t move beyond it. Go out there and make something. If it doesn’t work, the experience you’ll gain from just doing it will be invaluable.

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