Kate calls her ex for the first time in three years.

Loneliness has been a momentous theme since the pandemic broke out, a quick look at our Quarantine Creatives can advocate for that. But loneliness is something that people have been suffering from forever. ‘It’s Been A While’ could be taking place amidst the pandemic, but keeping that bit out makes the story timeless. And with its timelessness and subtlety it also becomes very relatable, as the connection with the main character (played by Meg Cashel) grows with each passing word. Screenwriter Ryan Sheppard wanted to show that someone talking on a phone for 5 minutes can be deceivingly trivial and quite significant.

Technically speaking, the main goal was to create a memorable character piece focused solely on one actor and location. We also wanted to dynamically juggle two distinct tones to create a unique emotional journey for the viewer.

-Brett Cramer, Director

“Keep Your Camera Movement Simple and Motivated”

With its simple narrative, the journey is rather bold. That’s one of the powerful feats of ‘It’s Been a While’, smartly directed by Brett Cramer. With a tiny budget of under $1,000, Brett had to find an efficient way to tell the trapping story. That all started by creating limitations for the project, where he says “working within a strict logistical framework, we were able to stay focused on the story instead of getting distracted by fancy equipment and the normal hustle-bustle of a large film crew.” That included other elements like designing his cinematography around the location and keeping the camera movement simple and motivated. Brett gives an extraordinary list of tips to creating a successful low-budget indie film in his No Film School piece.