Week of November 02, 2009
Armed with borrowed laptop computers and digital camcorders, 17 teams of budding Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) filmmakers spent one week writing, directing and editing five-minute films with hopes of walking down the red carpet at the Campus MovieFest Finale on Thursday, Nov. 5.
This year, Campus MovieFest, the world’s largest student film festival, included CSULB in its ninth-annual national college tour. Festival organizers provided participating students everything they needed to create their own movies for free, such as Apple laptops, HD digital video cameras and AT&T mobile phones.
The launch of the competition took place in the University Student Union (USU) on Oct. 7. The following day, a technical support session was scheduled for students, enabling teams to consult with MovieFest film experts. Professional support was also provided throughout the entire week. On Oct. 13 all teams had to turn in their films by 6 p.m.
“I only found out about the MovieFest last week, so I called up everyone I knew and said ‘We can do this,’” said CSULB film student Seth Gustafson. “During production I was sick, so I couldn’t speak to my team because my voice was gone; So there was some tension and a lot of things to overcome. But we did overcome and got the film done.”
Students participating in MoiveFest were allowed to pick any topic for their films and compete in categories such as best picture, best drama and best comedy. A panel of judges, including CSULB students and staff from the university’s Film and Electronic Arts Department, have been instructed to focus on the storytelling and creativity at the finale, not just the technical aspect of film making. This year, organizers also added a social justice category, which is sponsored by the Elfenworks Foundation.
Like many of the MovieFest competitors, Gustafson found inspiration for his film by witnessing how people act on a daily basis on and off campus. His team’s film, “Absent,” explores the growing disconnect among his peers in a growing digital world.
“I noticed around campus that everyone always has their headphones on. They all seem to be plugged in,” explained Gustafson, who directed “Absent.” “Sometimes I try to say hello to people and they just walk right past me. So I thought, what if in the future everyone is ‘absent of community, if people quit talking to each other, if we all eventually become absent of emotion?’ It’s kind of a post-modernistic view. That’s kind of the way our film went.”
The teams that make it to the Campus MovieFest Finale on Nov. 5 will first walk the “red carpet” before their films are played for what is expected to be the packed USU Beach Auditorium.
The winning teams will walk away with a variety of prizes. CSULB’s best picture, best comedy and best drama winners will receive an iPod Nano, a copy of a Final Cut Studio and entry into the Campus MovieFest Regional Grand Finale in San Francisco on Nov. 14.
CSULB film student So Yun Um had a much smaller team than Gustafson while creating her film “Grief Traveling” for the competition.
“This competition was a spur of the moment thing for me,” said Um. “During the production it was just me, though I did have a friend who did just editing. I wanted it to be very personal without the clutter of people and equipment so I could focus more on the picture itself.”
Um developed the idea for her film based on her interest in the individual levels of grieving.
“I made a vignette of the grieving process because I found it interesting that, no matter what, a person still has to go through each step of the grieving process. It’s a psychological process,” said Um. “First one is in denial, then they become angry and then they begin bargaining, such as ‘If I did this better maybe he would like me better,’ or ‘If I did this then maybe I could bring that person back to life.’ The fourth step is depression and fifth is acceptance.”
Those who advance at the regionals will go onto the International Grand Finale at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles in June 2010.
Winners of the regionals and international finales will receive more extravagant prizes. The team that takes Best Picture at the regionals will receive entry into the Campus MovieFest International Grand Finale, one 15-inch MacBook Pro, a Samsung phone and a trip for two to a top professional film festival. Each member of the team (up to 10) will also win an iPod Touch. Their films will be shown in France at the Cannes International Film Festival in next May and in-flight on Virgin America Airlines.
At the International Grand Finale, students will have to mingle with top film industry personalities as well as get the opportunity to view top student movies on studio lots. Winners will receive meet-and-greets during the event with top writers, directors, producers and talent as well as win large grants up to $10,000.
“Campus MovieFest is a unique event where students get to work together in a team, learn new technology and have a lot of fun,” said Dan Costa, president and co-founder of Campus MovieFest. “Frequently after their CMF experience, students utilize their movie making skills [that they learned during the competition] for classes and projects. We are very excited to see that CMF become a campus tradition time and time again.”