University Studios by Kristi Walker

FEATURE

s o i d u t S y t i s r e

U n iv SCENE

TAKE

DIRECTOR CAMERA

by davin eldridge design by kristi walker photos by shae allison

Students at UNC-Chapel Hill are pursuing life-long dreams of being behind the camera and hope their hard work pays off with entrance into the industry.

UNC-CHAPEL HILL IS HOME TO MANY ambitious and creative student filmmakers, whose dreams are to one day work as professionals in the field of cinema. Throughout their time here, they keep busy pursuing a mastery of filmmaking day in and day out, taping scenes for their latest projects and spending hours at a time editing small clips of footage. From absurd comedies about alpacas that transform into humans to black and white short films about Frankenstein creating his own bride to find love, there is a wide variety of cinematic productions being made right here at the University.

www.blueandwhitemag.com

Student filmmakers must learn to use video editing programs to edit the scenes they film. This process usually takes double the time it took to shoot the footage.

INSPIRED EARLY ON

Senior Dane Keil has been working on a 20-minute black and white sci-fi romance since the beginning of the semester. “What if Frankenstein had a good relationship with his creator and sought to carry on their legacy by creating a female counterpart?” says Keil, an English and communication studies double major. “Would he fall in love with her? Would she love him back?” It has not been an easy pursuit. The process of making independent films isn’t as simple as some people may think, though there is still fun to be had, according to senior communication studies major Jordan Imbrey—who, like Keil, hopes to one day work as a director. “It isn’t easy, especially with a small budget,” says Imbrey, who is working on his sixth full feature film. “You learn to work with what you have. Nobody is ever a great filmmaker starting out. After about 10 films, then you start to get good, and you begin to develop a style and a voice,” he says. The dream to work in cinema has been a life-long one, say the budding filmmakers, who are driven today to be as hardworking and versatile as possible. “I do what I do because I have no other choice,” says Imbrey on his choice to study filmmaking, adding that he has already invested much of his life to cinema. As a child, Imbrey says he loved storytelling, particularly in film. Since his earliest days, his curiosities involved cameras, scripts, characters and stories. “Most kids play with cameras at some point in their lives. I never stopped. Eventually it became serious, but still fun,” he says. With approximately 40 productions under his belt to date, Imbrey has been busy showing his latest feature, “Alpacas and Destiny,” which was shot in December 2012

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013

right before Christmas. It has been screened at numerous film festivals throughout North Carolina after being completed in March. The concept for the film came to Imbrey during the break after spending time on an alpaca farm. “Lonely Winslow Timms discovers an amulet that turns his pet alpacas into humans,” Imbrey’s film description reads. “Comedy, tragedy, and destiny ensue.” The production, says Imbrey, garnered a warm reception at Cannes Short Film Corner, Action on Film International Film Festival, Asheville Cinema Festival and the Carrboro Film Festival. “It’s been interesting,” says Imbrey, who not only directed “Alpacas,” but also produced, wrote and edited the film. “We got the vibe that some people were bewildered by the concept, while other groups loved it.” In addition to being exciting, he says festivals also provide student filmmakers a chance to network with other production teams and compare their own works to others’. Festival endeavors help new filmmakers understand the process and gain notoriety, he says. Imbrey added that the actors in “Alpacas,” like those in most of his productions, are trained actors whom he knows outside of class. However, most of the early film projects undertaken, Imbrey says, began as prompts assigned by professors and take a few months at most to shoot. The editing process, also known as post production, takes at least twice as long. “I think seeing the final product, which depending on the project’s size and scope can take up a lot of a student’s time, makes all that time spent worth it,” says Imbrey. “But even watching other people watch your film—that’s really what it’s all about.” This love of film production is shared by other students throughout UNC-CH’s Department of Communication Studies—all of whom wear many hats in the projects they are involved with. “There are so many wonderful things I enjoy about the process of film making,” says senior dramatic arts major Bea Strobl, a regular on the UNC Student TV show “General College.” Strobl is set to perform in three independent films and work as the costume designer for the Department of Dramatic Arts’ production of “Tales From Ovid.” “I have always been a movie buff ever since I was little and have forever enjoyed the ability of a film to take you on an adventure, open your mind to new possibilities and provoke new ideas or ways of thinking about the world around us,” she says. Strobl says she hopes to obtain a job in any capacity within the entertainment industry. Over the past three summers, she has interned for casting agencies across the country, including Boston Casting in Boston, Perry Reece Casting in Los Angeles and Vanessa N. Casting in Wilmington. “I really enjoyed working at a talent agency and see that

as a definite possibility of a future career along with my lifelong passion and love for acting,” Strobl says.

CHALLENGES AND TRIUMPHS

Keil, like the other filmmakers, says there are many perks to making a film. “There is no greater thrill than seeing what you have envisioned and created get realized,” says Keil. “I love directing, editing and writing immensely, and I am getting increasingly better at producing. The process of filmmaking gives me such joy, particularly in the editing room. There, I am king and I can make the film precisely how I want.” Strobl adds that she is excited for the future of the industry and how the technologies and techniques students are being taught in classes will help them create better films. “It is a continuously growing medium that, with the continuing advancement in technology, will only continue to amaze audiences for years to come,” she says. “There is

nothing more fulfilling for a filmmaker than to imagine an image in ones head and be able to recreate that special moment and capture it for the world to see.” But students of cinema all agree that filmmaking is not for everyone. “It requires an uncommonly specific and intense passion, as well as a predisposition toward creativity and hard work,” Keil says. “It is a team-based endeavor, so anyone interested in film must balance individual ability and selfreliance with directness and tact for communicating with the team. The hours are long and many, and there is always a new piece of equipment or editing system to learn.” Keil added that Murphy’s Law is inevitable in the path to becoming a filmmaker.

“It requires uncommonly specific and intense passion.” – Dane Keil

“Everything can and will go wrong,” he says. “But if these conditions are met, the vision for the project is strong and everyone is on board with it, there is no greater pleasure than seeing the finished product playing on a screen in front of an audience. No other profession or inclination can know the sheer joy of those moments.”

Dane Keil edits one of his projects “Potatoes from Outer Space! Part 1” in Swain Hall. “Video editing isn’t for the faint of heart,” Keil says. “But if you love it, then this is what you do.”