By Hillary Donnell
Staff Writer
It takes money and time to make a movie. College students find themselves particularly disadvantaged in these respects and many ideas that could have grown into smart, funny, and moving films will never make it past the planning stage.
Campus MovieFest offers Simmons students the materials needed to create their own short films for the second year in a row. Campus MovieFest, which is the world’s largest student film festival, will be coming to the Colleges of the Fenway this March and April.
Participating Simmons students wishing to participate will be loaned an Apple Macbook Pro which will have Adobe Creative Cloud and a selection of over 1,100 license-free songs, a Panasonic/Lumix HD camera, Sennheiser sound gear, a 500 GB portable hard drive, and a tripod on April 5 at the Simmons Student Activities Center.
The festival will also provide technical support and training opportunities throughout the week. Everything students borrow is at absolutely no charge to them, as long as they show a valid school ID to pick up the items they need. The only thing that prospective filmmakers will have to provide is their time and their stories.
Over the course of seven days, participants will develop a five-minute short film from concept to final edit. There are countless ways Simmons students can get involved in making movies.
Simmons students have to option to lead a project as director, be a camera or sound person, scout locations, edit, compose music, develop special effects, or offer their talent as performers.
“We didn’t make it into the finals, but it was fun. Even if you aren’t a director, it’s worth it,” said Marjorie-Sarah Atkinson, an actor in Communications major Lisa Nault’s film.
Katie Sittig-Boyd participated in last year’s Campus MovieFest and enjoyed the opportunity, saying, “I like learning things on the spot and Campus MovieFest is a great way to do that. For instance, I had never filmed anything before and had a chance to during that week. It might have been shaky but it also looked cool.”
Lisa Nault, who is currently studying at a filmmaking exchange program at Marlboro College, loves the pace of Campus MovieFest.
“It was fun making a film or even multiple films in only a week. You have only a little time to plan and get everything together,” Nault said. “Before you know it you are done. The CMF screening event, to watch the work people had done, was my favorite part. You sit with friends, possibly win prizes, and watch the premiere of what you accomplished in a week.”
There are a few events that readers should mark in their calendars to prepare for this exciting event. An info session will be held on March 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the School of Management M-513.
Campus MovieFest’s launch will be on March 30 from 11 to 4 p.m. in the Student Activities Center. During the week of April 5, students will be working on their films, the top sixteen of which will be premiered at Stephanian Hall in MCPHS.
Future filmmakers can sign up for the event at campusmoviefest.com/COF until March 30. “I am very excited for this year,” offered student filmmaker Jillianna Farietta, who developed and helped to direct a film for last year’s Campus MovieFest. “Last year’s mad dash to create and edit was extremely fun and I am looking forward to doing so again this year!”
