Behind the scenes of ‘For The Sins of Midnight’

An estranged father returns to his hometown after 40 years to build a relationship with his daughter only to discover that he has until midnight to build up the courage to talk to her before she’s gone forever.

by Jaycie Regnier

In the wee hours of the morning, students in mass media were busy wrapping up the final day of filming, completing their latest project late Thursday, March 30. Most film sets have hundreds of crew members, compared to the 25 students from the Advanced Film Production 2 class taught by associate professor Mathew Nyquist. Adin Replogle, a junior in mass media student at Washburn, is the director of this film and worked with fellow film students Jess Seigel and Christina Noland to write the story for this short film titled “For the Sins of Midnight.”

Replogle became interested in film as a high school student, where he worked with his uncle, a videographer, and then discovered he wanted to pursue a career in creative filmmaking.

“In terms of directing, my main job as the director is making the creative decisions and being the master delegator on set,” Replogle said. “I am in charge of performances and directing actors, but most importantly, to ensure everyone is consistent and working toward the same goal.”

Malachi Lewis is a mass media major at Washburn and the short film’s editor and script supervisor. His main job as an editor is to edit the film and to supervise the script on set to ensure the continuity is good for the editing process.

“I got interested in film when I

Senior Trevor Falcon, first assistant camera for the film “For the Sins of Midnight,” sets up a camera on a dolly for this scene.

Senior Rina Miyanor, second assistant camera (2ND AC) for the film. She is holding up the clapper board for the film, right before they start filming a scene. took the Intro to Mass Media class here at Washburn,” said Lewis.

“For the Sins of Midnight” is the class’s most recent project. It is a heartfelt story about a father deciding whether he wants to build a relationship with his daughter after returning to his hometown.

“It is a story about trying to overcome regret and dealing with what happens if you don’t,” Replogle said.

Directing and producing a film does come with its hardships, as the crew had a hard time finding venues to shoot scenes and working with full-time college students’ weekly schedules.

“There is no end to stressors as we are always working around everyone’s busy schedules and ensuring we have everything we need on set,” Replogle said.” As a director, I put out the creative fires, and producers put out the practical fires.”

All the students involved with the film had their jobs as crew members, whether it was working as a director, cinematographers, actors, editors, or producers. Most students have been previously involved with film in some form, but it was their first time working as an actual film crew.

“My job as one of the producers is to be the group’s caretaker, “ Kevin Owens said. “It is like being the mom or dad or the crew and making sure everything runs smoothly on set.”

The students were given a taste of the film industry and how these positions work in the real world.

“One of the most important aspects of working with the cast and crew is working as a team,” Lewis said.

The film “For the Sins of

Midnight” is wrapped up and in the process of final edits; they are working to submit the film to film festivals soon.

It’s possible the film will be submitted to the spring 2024 WIFI Fim Festival.

“I truly lucked out with this crew that I have, everyone is fully engaged, and I can tell that everyone cares,” Replogle said.

Replogle and Lewis are grateful for the film crew’s hard work and their progress with “The Sins of Midnight.” Both students have big career aspirations and plan to work in the film industry after graduating.

“There are times that being involved in film can be stressful, but it’s all worth it,” Lewis said.