Armed with a camera, microphones, an Apple Macbook Pro and a hard drive for storing footage, students are excited to bring their creativity to the big screen.
Participants waited in line for hours near the lobby of the SLC to grab their gear and begin filming their entries for the Campus MovieFest on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Taylor Singleton, a junior majoring in education, said that she can’t wait to start filming again. She directed a CMF documentary about student life on campus last year and Singleton felt that she learned a lot during that experience.
“This year I am going to do it right,” she said. Without any prior knowledge of filmmaking when she took on the competition last year, Singleton went to every instruction seminar and read all of the tech information.
Although her documentary didn’t make the cut to receive an award last year, she is confident that this year her ambitious goal of three films will give her a better chance of winning.
Similar to last year, Singleton will record, write and direct all three films, which include a documentary, similar to “Being Black in America,” a social justice film; a feature on sexual assault; and a silent film.
In order to accomplish all of this, Singleton said she would have to dedicate most of her time.
“I plan on barely sleeping and asking the tech crew a whole bunch of questions during the daytime,” she said.
In order to be successful in the competition, CMF Promotions Manager Raghav Ravichandran suggests that candidates focus on the guidelines their judges will be using to evaluate each film.
CMF officials say that the judges will be looking at the following areas, which pertain to the overall experience of watching the movie. Other than the categories listed below, the judges will also pay attention to whether the film produced an emotional response by considering the overall impression of the film, enjoyment, meaningfulness and replay value.
Content: This section pays close attention to the story and structure of the movie. It includes script and story, creativity, originality, and coherence.
Technology Excellence: This section pertains to the technical aspects of the movie. It involves visual creativity, cinematography, sound design and soundtrack, editing, and effective use of special effects.
