When Darrick Landreneau used Caleb Phillips for a free ride across town, a friendship and an idea to change the world sparked between the two.
The duo is currently in post-production for their first full-length film under their production company From My Eyes. Five years in the making, “From My Eyes,” named after their company, tells the story of their everyday lives, the friendships they’ve made and experiences they’ve had.
Their mission with the film is simple: to inspire others to live a life worth filming.
“We went to Best Buy to buy a new portable hard drive to start Darrick’s crazy idea,” Phillips said. “His idea was to begin filming everyday of his life, my life and our friendships so that when we graduated we could turn it into a film to show the world.”
Phillips graduated from the University in May with a communication studies degree, while Landreneau has not yet finished due to pursuing a career in the film industry full-time.
Growing up in Shreveport, Phillips was interested in any kind of art he could do. Drawing, acting, music, a little filming here and there — in any medium, art was where he could be himself. After meeting Landreneau briefly at C. E. Byrd High School, the two became Facebook friends. Between messaging one another about their common interests and a need for a friendship as freshmen in 2012, they became best friends. Culminating in the ride to Best Buy, Phillips realized he was hooked on being behind the camera.
After a few missteps, including leaving the University and subsequently returning, the now 24-year-old committed himself fully to filming and pursuing his degree. His and Landreneau’s friendship bled over into the professional sphere when the pair started filming and putting together video for LSU Athletics and LSU football in 2015.
“Derrick boldly decided to leave a DVD with our best work on it, on the doorstep of then-head coach Les Miles,” Phillips said. “We got a phone call a few weeks later.”
Though they were busy at work with the athletic department, Phillips and Landreneau found time to continue filming their everyday lives for their ultimate goal of making a feature film of the footage. During the summer of 2016, they traveled throughout Louisiana to make a short film-turned music video entitled “The South.” It was during this process that they learned how important it was to meet people through the business, they said. the experience only further ignited their fire for filming.
One of the most notable experiences for the two was filming the Meet-and-Greet Convention, or MAGCON, with Cameron Dallas, Aaron Carpenter and other creatives from Instagram, Vine and YouTube. Phillips met the group and got the opportunity to film them through mutual friends.
“I filmed the spring 2014 MAGCON tour and then brought Darrick along for the rest of the tour from there on out,” Phillips said.
During his solo filming time with MAGCON, Phillips traveled throughout the United States, in addition to Australia, Europe and New Zealand. After becoming engulfed in the MAGCON family, the two regard social media influencer and YouTuber Cameron Dallas as a lifelong friend and major collaborator, often sharing ideas and asking each other for input on creative projects.
“We collaborate with Cam in almost every project we take on, while we work to grow both of our brands,” Philips said.
While the journey has been a wild ride, it’s far from over. Phillips expresses excitement for the future and all possibilities that may come their way.
Their full-length film is projected to be out for public viewing in theaters and online in late 2018. Until then, they can be found on Instagram @FromMyEyes and frommyeyes.co.
With their unwavering faith in themselves and each other, persistence to the craft and boldness to go wherever they are led, the duo is on the right track to living a life worth the big screen.
