Making SEVEN YEAR RENTAL
a note from the director:

Regardless of whether they loved it or loathed it, the part-time employees of Video Plus would all agree that working at the video store was a unique time in their lives. With limited responsibilities and minimal supervision, the store felt less like a job and more like a place you went for a few hours to hang out. With a coworker ensemble in early 2006 that included Kayla, James, Matt and Wolf; it was the swapping of stories – while adding our own commentary – that kept our shifts interesting and worth showing up for. It was also at that time when John, the store’s owner, closed one of his seven stores due to direct competition from a national chain. While nobody knew exactly how long John’s remaining stores would go on, it was clear that there weren’t many years left for the tired local chain. With the store as our set, the employees as our cast, and the shifts to provide the stories, there wouldn’t be a better opportunity to capture all the highs and lows of the rental experience.

Pre-Production:

Good documentary, in my opinion, involves genuine people and the stories surrounding their everyday lives. And that’s what I wanted this movie to be, an honest – and entertaining – view of the store and the people that inhabit it. To really do that, we’d have to take a leap of faith that the material would present itself, and not overlook the small, intimate moments that make up real life. We’d have to be mindful of the bigger picture. Having worked there for seven years, I had an idea of what those stories and moments might be, but I couldn’t always put them into words.

Production:

The plan was to capture both digital and security camera footage of the store’s activities while integrating the stories and perspectives of both current and former employees. Utilizing security camera footage from the store was an attempt to maximize the amount of footage we could record at almost no cost or intrusion while maintaining a uniquely intimate feel. The security camera is the all-seeing, ever-present constant in the store, and the audience is able to tap into it for a wholly voyeuristic experience.

Traditional filming methods were utilized on days when we had a clear objective for recording, but also on days when we’d be free to candidly film whoever was working. Much of the footage was shot without an intrusive set of lights or microphones, so the filming process was less intimidating for the employees and better able to preserve their honest, uninhibited interactions

Editing & Post-Production:

When we started looking through the hours of footage we’d collected while filming over the course of the year, we found our story in the voices of employees past and present, and were able to present the store from an insider’s perspective.

“Seven Year Rental” is filled with nostalgia for small businesses, first jobs, and the original way of renting movies. Over the course of the year, we found our beginning and our end, and a wealth of organically formed stories in between. We found those moments that captured the real feel of the store. From Alex’s confessions to Moriah’s reflections - they all show the store as it is when nobody is watching.

And from it all, “Seven Year Rental” emerged as both a pleasant reminder of the places we’ll go to escape the real world, and a fitting tribute to a fading industry that was once the lifeblood of home entertainment.

Sincerely,
David Neureuther