Thank you for all that came out to last night's meeting! We heard many wonderful ideas. Unfortunately, we cant accept them all. If you were not selected, don't fret, you can try again next semester. If you were selected, congrats! The films that made it were:
Matt Valade's Honor Roll:
Genre: Comedy
Two friends become enemies when the chance of a dream internship appears. One is a hard working honest man who puts in the effort for what he wants, the other is a loose cannon stoner who doesn't play by the rules because everything comes easy to him. It's a tale of friendship, competition and passion.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
Danniel Bannoura's Paper Boys:
Genre: Comedy
We follow the antics of two high school seniors who are looking for alcohol in people's garages while on a paper route.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Alexander Hammer's The Case of the Campus Corpse:
Genre: A play on 50s Film Noire Crime Drama
Actual Genre: Dark Comedy
A student is blackmailed by a frat to find the killer of his worst enemy before Thanksgiving break so the departed's frat can get revenge before the police get involved.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Belinda Shao's Almond Joy:
Genre: Mockumentary
Squirrel enthusiast goes nuts. A fake documentary of a (non-dangerously) crazy squirrel enthusias living on UMD campus. He/she is somewhere in between PETA lobbyist and "Crazy cat lady" archetypes.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Hugh Monahan's Non Sequitur:
Genre: Comedy
Mash-up film of 15sec-2min dark comedy sketches -- Whitest Kids U' Know style.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Also being done are our returning member's films. These are the films by some real tried and true individuals that have been with us since the good old days (which are like... any day before today, because then it'd be the good now days or the good new days). So this semester we have:
Waill Essa's (Director of A Tampered Mind) Assurance (Working Title):
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Tommy finds himself accused of murdering his roommate. Hiding from police persecution, Tommy meets John, who decides to help him because he knows the men who killed Tommy's roommate.
Open positions: Cinematographer
Josh Johnson's (Star of Come to Get her) How to be a Serial Killer:
Genre: Dark Comedy
A man runs a vlog about the steps to becoming a successful serial killer. It starts with a brief recap of important points from previous entries as this episode is the demonstration of the final step, where he finally puts all of his tips to practice.
Open positions: Cinematographer, Editor
Dan Lerner's (Some Dude who Did a thing) God's Will:
Genre: Comedy
After their father's death, Jesus, Satan and Death gather together to read God's last will and testament.
Open positions: Writer, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Jessica Esteves's (Who is credited in a few things) Algorithm:
Genre: Drama
A young physicist goes back in time to say goodbye to his younger sister who died in a car accident.
Open positions: Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Josh Arkin's (Who is revisiting an idea that was voted in last Fall) Mud Vignettes:
Genre: Short Realistic Fiction
Fresh perspectives on different aspects of college life.
Open positions: Writer, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
Sara Gizaw's (Director of Shoes) Words On My Hands:
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Girl is having trouble finding love due to the fact that her voice sounds like a man. She signs up for a sign language class and meets a deaf/mute boy. Everything goes well until he confesses that he could hear her the entire time. At firs she reacts in anger, but in the end she discovers the boy has the same condition (he sounds like a woman).
Open positions: Editor
Now here's the fun part: This is where YOU (YES YOU!) get involved! To be a part of one of these lovely (or serious or cool or whatever adjective you want it to be) productions is to sign up for a role. No experience necessary. If you need to figure out how something works just ask someone who has experience and they should be happy to help. If you have experience and are asked about how to do something, please don't be a jerk about it. I just told them that you'd be nice, and you wouldn't want to make me a liar would you? Don't answer that.
Some of you might be thinking, "I see each open position, but what are they and is there one that fits my particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." or some variant of "what does each thing do?" The following positions detailed:
Director: The director runs the show and shouts at people until the job is done. They have the vision for the movie and will do anything they can to achieve that vision or something closish to it. They are the wizard casts movie magic on an otherwise mundane set of ordinary people, props and locations. Example: David Fincher
Writer: The writer writes the script. The script dictates how the movie should go...usually. Example: Aaron Sorkin
Producer: The producer organizes people, scouts locations and secures props and any other resources needed to make movie magic happen. Example: Judd Apatow
Cinematographer:
The guy behind the camera. He holds the camera in a way that pleases the director, or doesn't please the director. He frames the shots and tries his best to make the film look pretty, or ugly in the way the director and/or himself wants it to be. Example: Nattawut Kittikhun
Editor: The person who puts it all together. They use an editing program provided by either yourselves or one of the many computers here on campus to pull together the footage into a cohesive show able stream of moving pictures.
Musician: The music maker. They can either handle the sound editing, the soundtrack or actually record their own music. If you have an ear for music and a song in your heart, consider it. It's a very important job since a movie is half sound (This is a debatable topic and could prove to be a decent conversation with the right people). Example: Hans Zimmer (who's like our generation's John Williams , I would have said him but Zimmer's more current. Don't hate me and be glad I didn't take the hipster route and say Danny Elfman (even though he kicks ass too, Burton fans)).
So to sign up for a role on a short film you can do one of two things: You could have submitted a notecard at the end of the meeting today with your top choice of movie to work on. Or you can also either send us an email ([email protected]) with the following information and format:
your name
1. your top choice of movie you'd like to work on - roles you's like to be considered for (you can put multiple roles here)
2. your backup choice - the roles you'd like to be considered for (these can be different than the roles for the first film)
3. your backup-backup - the roles you'd like to be considered for (these can be different than the roles for 1 and 2 but not different from 4)
And that's it. Please have these emails in by SATURDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 29.
Thanks and hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Matt Valade's Honor Roll:
Genre: Comedy
Two friends become enemies when the chance of a dream internship appears. One is a hard working honest man who puts in the effort for what he wants, the other is a loose cannon stoner who doesn't play by the rules because everything comes easy to him. It's a tale of friendship, competition and passion.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
Danniel Bannoura's Paper Boys:
Genre: Comedy
We follow the antics of two high school seniors who are looking for alcohol in people's garages while on a paper route.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Alexander Hammer's The Case of the Campus Corpse:
Genre: A play on 50s Film Noire Crime Drama
Actual Genre: Dark Comedy
A student is blackmailed by a frat to find the killer of his worst enemy before Thanksgiving break so the departed's frat can get revenge before the police get involved.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Belinda Shao's Almond Joy:
Genre: Mockumentary
Squirrel enthusiast goes nuts. A fake documentary of a (non-dangerously) crazy squirrel enthusias living on UMD campus. He/she is somewhere in between PETA lobbyist and "Crazy cat lady" archetypes.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Hugh Monahan's Non Sequitur:
Genre: Comedy
Mash-up film of 15sec-2min dark comedy sketches -- Whitest Kids U' Know style.
Open positions: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Also being done are our returning member's films. These are the films by some real tried and true individuals that have been with us since the good old days (which are like... any day before today, because then it'd be the good now days or the good new days). So this semester we have:
Waill Essa's (Director of A Tampered Mind) Assurance (Working Title):
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Tommy finds himself accused of murdering his roommate. Hiding from police persecution, Tommy meets John, who decides to help him because he knows the men who killed Tommy's roommate.
Open positions: Cinematographer
Josh Johnson's (Star of Come to Get her) How to be a Serial Killer:
Genre: Dark Comedy
A man runs a vlog about the steps to becoming a successful serial killer. It starts with a brief recap of important points from previous entries as this episode is the demonstration of the final step, where he finally puts all of his tips to practice.
Open positions: Cinematographer, Editor
Dan Lerner's (Some Dude who Did a thing) God's Will:
Genre: Comedy
After their father's death, Jesus, Satan and Death gather together to read God's last will and testament.
Open positions: Writer, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Jessica Esteves's (Who is credited in a few things) Algorithm:
Genre: Drama
A young physicist goes back in time to say goodbye to his younger sister who died in a car accident.
Open positions: Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Musician
Josh Arkin's (Who is revisiting an idea that was voted in last Fall) Mud Vignettes:
Genre: Short Realistic Fiction
Fresh perspectives on different aspects of college life.
Open positions: Writer, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
Sara Gizaw's (Director of Shoes) Words On My Hands:
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Girl is having trouble finding love due to the fact that her voice sounds like a man. She signs up for a sign language class and meets a deaf/mute boy. Everything goes well until he confesses that he could hear her the entire time. At firs she reacts in anger, but in the end she discovers the boy has the same condition (he sounds like a woman).
Open positions: Editor
Now here's the fun part: This is where YOU (YES YOU!) get involved! To be a part of one of these lovely (or serious or cool or whatever adjective you want it to be) productions is to sign up for a role. No experience necessary. If you need to figure out how something works just ask someone who has experience and they should be happy to help. If you have experience and are asked about how to do something, please don't be a jerk about it. I just told them that you'd be nice, and you wouldn't want to make me a liar would you? Don't answer that.
Some of you might be thinking, "I see each open position, but what are they and is there one that fits my particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." or some variant of "what does each thing do?" The following positions detailed:
Director: The director runs the show and shouts at people until the job is done. They have the vision for the movie and will do anything they can to achieve that vision or something closish to it. They are the wizard casts movie magic on an otherwise mundane set of ordinary people, props and locations. Example: David Fincher
Writer: The writer writes the script. The script dictates how the movie should go...usually. Example: Aaron Sorkin
Producer: The producer organizes people, scouts locations and secures props and any other resources needed to make movie magic happen. Example: Judd Apatow
Cinematographer:
The guy behind the camera. He holds the camera in a way that pleases the director, or doesn't please the director. He frames the shots and tries his best to make the film look pretty, or ugly in the way the director and/or himself wants it to be. Example: Nattawut Kittikhun
Editor: The person who puts it all together. They use an editing program provided by either yourselves or one of the many computers here on campus to pull together the footage into a cohesive show able stream of moving pictures.
Musician: The music maker. They can either handle the sound editing, the soundtrack or actually record their own music. If you have an ear for music and a song in your heart, consider it. It's a very important job since a movie is half sound (This is a debatable topic and could prove to be a decent conversation with the right people). Example: Hans Zimmer (who's like our generation's John Williams , I would have said him but Zimmer's more current. Don't hate me and be glad I didn't take the hipster route and say Danny Elfman (even though he kicks ass too, Burton fans)).
So to sign up for a role on a short film you can do one of two things: You could have submitted a notecard at the end of the meeting today with your top choice of movie to work on. Or you can also either send us an email ([email protected]) with the following information and format:
your name
1. your top choice of movie you'd like to work on - roles you's like to be considered for (you can put multiple roles here)
2. your backup choice - the roles you'd like to be considered for (these can be different than the roles for the first film)
3. your backup-backup - the roles you'd like to be considered for (these can be different than the roles for 1 and 2 but not different from 4)
And that's it. Please have these emails in by SATURDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 29.
Thanks and hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
