[Vcfilmmakers-l] Senior Film Projects Need YOU

[Kyle Porter]

Hi All,

As you finish up your semesters and venture home for the holidays, I ask you all to please consider working on one of the Senior Narrative Film projects going on next semester. I worked on one my Sophomore year and they provide a great opportunity to get acquainted with the difficulties arising from shooting on actual film stock and with working with actors of all ages and levels of experience.

All of the crews need people helping them out, though one of the films (Express Lane) especially needs an extra crew member since they don't currently have someone doing sound. Though this would be an especially big commitment, you would be able to receive academic credit for your efforts.

The directors all sent in descriptions of their films and details of what they need in terms of positions. Please email them if you're at all interested in working on their film or even if you might be interested but want them to send you a copy of their script before making any commitments. And please note that ANY HELP is appreciated: even if you can't commit to being on set every weekend, many of the positions would allow you to help out for a smaller percentage of the time.


The films:

County K
Written & Directed by David Viste: (daviste at vassar.edu)
Cinematography: Kyle Porter
Sound: Emilia Mendieta
Editing: Jared Berenholz

Synopsis: The film follows a younger couple's disillusionment with the older generation, culminating in bloodshed. It's got it all: blood, sex, guns, knives, and a fuck-ton of cursing. More elaborately it tells the story of a dysfunctional younger couple (Jill and Clare) who find comfort in an older couple (Donald and Maude). The two generations become close only for it to be revealed that the older couple are not in fact married but are cheating on their spouses with each other. In anger and confusion, the younger couple slaughter Donald and Maude.

Needed Positions: I need as much help as I can get. I need a camera assistant, an assistant director, a production manager, a prop master/special effects engineer (you need to find the best fucking blood recipe you can and figure out how to make it explode since we'll be building squibs), as well as general PA's. This film is going to be fucking nuts and I'm sure we'll have a great time making this as awesome as we can.




Field of Poppies (working title)
Written & Directed by Spencer Richards (sprichards at vassar.edu)
DP: Sam Wootton
Sound: Alex Camilleri
Editing: Victoria Marquette

Synopsis: The film is about a precocious eight year old boy in the 1970's who likes to play with traditionally "girly" things--barbies, dresses, etc. His father is distressed by this and tries to make his son more masculine by enrolling him in soccer lessons. It's a very lyrical and quiet look at acceptance and the fluid nature of gender in children.

Needed Positions: PA's to help out on set as gaffers, grips and more general production assistant duties--food, errands, etc. Due to child labor laws, we generally won't have actual shooting times longer than four hours whenever the children in the movie are working, so there are generally shorter days. No late nights (there are no night time scenes). Early call times to take advantage of shorter sun time in winter, though. We're probably shooting mostly locally, some locations still TBD. Please email me with any questions--I'd love your help and would be extremely grateful.




Express Lane
Written & Directed by Marielle Sider (masider at vassar.edu), a film production major who loves a challenge. This script is her baby and everyone who works on the film are its adoptive parents.
Cinematographer: Matt Baron, film production major, chess hustler. Artistically-inclined and highly motivated. Has got “it.”
Editor: Hannah Erdheim, film production major, ice skater. Speaks French and is friendly but you’re not required to work with her—she will spend her days locked in the editing room (by choice). 

Synopsis: “Express Lane” is at its core a character study. It is an exploration of an unlikely relationship between Carine and Jackson, that is only possible because of their mutual employment in a huge, anonymous superstore. It is not that the characters are so different, but just that circumstance would never have otherwise allowed them to meet. Ultimately, this story is about Jackson, as he is the character who experiences an arc because of his interactions with Carine. He begins as a kind of efficient, impersonal machine, who is dressed both as some sort of hipster and a Target employee, but who is so detached from his surroundings and operating on automatic that he is literally just killing time. With the arrival of Carine, not only an attractive girl whose presence would obviously break up the monotony of an ordinary work day, but a strong personality, Jackson is forced to see his job through different eyes. She is excited, enthusiastic, and playful. She’s not there just for the money, but for the experience. In teaching Carine the simple tasks that he performs thoughtlessly every day, Jackson can see by Carine’s reactions and interpretations that that is not all that there is to the job—there is interactions with customers that can be rewarding, and getting to know other employees. 

Ultimately, however, Jackson is flawed. We see at the beginning that he wears a wedding ring, and he does misinterpret some of Carine’s behavior as flirtatious. This leads him to inappropriately approach her romantically towards the end of the film. He first feels stupid and awkward about his mistake, but in the way that she handles it and for other reasons, Jackson realizes that he misinterpreted an appreciation for Carine’s way of looking at life for a romantic attraction towards her personally. He shows that he has been changed in this way by approaching another employee that he had previously dismissed and starting a friendly conversation with him. It is not a total transformation, but Jackson was inspired by his day with Carine to do something positive and reach out to someone new. 

THE LOOK: Post-apocalyptic hospital. Target is as empty and anonymous as it gets, but we all know that it has its appeal. Emphasis on space and distance. 

Needed Positions: We need YOU. There are several different options. We need:

Production Assistants: Help transport and pack gear, organize equipment on set, assist cinematographer with lighting and satisfy his whims. Organize extras. BE extras. We need a few each time we shoot.

Production Design: Work with sets, props. Help create breakroom set. 

Costumes: They’re wearing Target uniforms, but each person’s is different. We’ll also need nametags. Work with director, before production begins, to pick out each characters’ LOOK. 

Makeup and hair: Actors are pretty but they still need makeup. We all do. The concepts are already created, they just need to be painted onto the actors’ faces and combed through their hair. 

We also NEED a sound guy/gal. We are recording sync sound, we have the information you need to know how to do it, and there will be some tutoring sessions in the beginning of next semester. This person either needs to add FILM327 or can acquire 1 Independent Study credit. Sound design does not end at recording sound—this person needs to work with the editor and director to fine-tune, add sounds, take them away, and work with music. This is a big time commitment, but an awesome opportunity. You’ll be famous. 

Please contact Marielle Sider (914.707.0329) if you are interested. We really, really want you!! And your friends.




Bug Chaser
Written & Directed by Daniel Savage (dasavage at vassar.edu)
Cinematography: Catherine Gimbrone
Sound Recordist and Editor: Mariko Yoshimura-Rank
Editor: Devon Wambold

Synopsis: Hudson Valley, 1995. Jake is a lonely gay teen, not yet out to his friends or family, but overly anxious to explore his sexuality. A high school melodrama envelops Jake and his two closest friends, Joanie and Tom, into a love triangle over who will take who to the Prom. Left without a date, Jake turns to a stranger on the internet in hope that a bond with an another gay man will provide him with the sense of belonging he so desperately desires. He meets Dave, an HIV positive man. Jake is haunted by a fear of the virus, as manifested in his dream of a bathroom filled with worms, but agrees to meet in person on the night of the Prom. After meeting Dave at a motel, Jake leaves to meet up with friends at an after party, only to find himself feeling even more alienated from his peers because of his experience.

Needed Positions:
Cinematography PA: “Bug Chaser” will feature dramatic, colored lighting and we a PA to help us design and execute the moody lighting scheme for each scene. The Cinematography PA will also be responsible for reading light levels, pulling focus, and handling the dolly.

Script Supervisor: Responsible for tending to the shot list to insure that a scene is covered thoroughly, insuring that continuity is not broken from take to take, and slating before each take.

Sound PA: Responsible for handling the boom mic and insuring the overall quality of the sound being recorded.

Art Direction PA: Responsible for managing props, costumes, and make-up on set and keeping track of them following the shoot. Art Direction PAs will also help choose costumes and decorate sets on the day of shoots.




Anyway, I hope that many of you decide to work on one of these films - it'll help us out a great deal and you'll learn a lot from the process. Plus, you'll have participated in what could turn out to be a really great film.

With holiday love,
Kyle


PS - Feel free to send me anything you're working on over the break and I'll get back to you asap with feedback. And if you plan to be shooting soon after the break, please email tioconnor or erschuman about reserving the equipment.