So it’s the end of the year and most students are hustling to finish their final projects. The fate of most final projects is most likely the bottom of a cardboard box if you’re a packrat; the garbage can if you’re happy to feed the trash monster; or, for a few students, your professor’s archives to be presented to future pupils.
For three students in the Advanced Video Field class taught by Kate Kaminski,lecturer in media students, their final project is part of a dream. Senior media studies majors Ben Nasse, Jared Desimio, and Paul Deveau head a creative collaboration they hope to present to upcoming film festivals.
“My dream for this film is for it to be my first real entry into the festival scene,” said Nasse, who takes on the role of director and performer in the production.
Nasse and his team adapted the script from a short story written by his older brother Jeff. “It was the cornerstone of his master’s thesis,” said Nasse. The story is loosely based on his brother’s experience after being discharged from the Marines Corps. The story, which Nasse said is “not real plot-heavy,” concentrates on the difficulties that one Marine faces upon re-entry into civilian life.
“This character makes one action that goes against a destructive pattern,” said Nasse, explaining the unresolved ending of the film.
Joshua Dolby fell into playing the main character CJ “by default,” he said, because it was difficult to recruit students to participate in the film. He said as children, he and his brother made home movies.
“I’ve always wanted to make movies,” Dolby said. “Working with Ben, I’ve been able to realize dreams that I’ve had.”
Though Dolby is not a student in the class, he is eager to assist Nasse in accomplishing his goal. “Ben’s aim has been a festival from the get-go,” said Dolby.
Cinematographer/Director of Photography Desimio shares Nasse’s hopes of entering the film in a festival. Yet with any goal, roadblocks can spontaneously appear from beneath the concrete like a scene out of a pop-up book to slow down progress.
“We’ve had a couple of rough shoots, but we’re getting back on track,” said Desimio.
Nasse was part of a team a few years back that produced a skit comedy called “Video Masterpieces,” which aired on public access television. It was part of an independent study that originated because he and some friends were bored, said Nasse.
With little experience in producing films for the public, these three students have encountered hardships in the process but learned from them along the way.
“We’ve had successes and failures,” said Nasse. “We’re feeling good now.”
Feeling confident in each other’s ability to accept criticism, this creative team doesn’t hold back when questioning the quality of the material being produced. “When you’re in an artistic endeavor, it’s important to be able to say, ‘Man, you’re doing a shitty job,'” said Dolby. Desimio said when a team is able to air ideas freely, “The best idea will stand up.”
For now, Nasse and the other students are “pushing to get this thing to another level.” Perhaps their first indication of festival potential may be that invitation for their film to join the professor’s archives.
Christy McKinnon can be contacted at [email protected]