Delta students fill tall order in Michigan Shorts program
By Jessica Sierocki, photojournalist.
Students in Delta’s film capstone class were featured as part of the Hell’s Half Mile Michigan Shorts program. “Pucker Up,” a comedy about a brownnosing call center employee, and “Natasha,” a film about a misunderstood teenager, made the cut onto the big screen of the Planetarium on Sept. 24, 2016.
“The films were no budget,” says Molly Doman, producer of “Pucker Up.” “Pucker Up” was filmed in the offices on campus at Delta College while “Natasha” was filmed at an off-site location and park.
One of the students who was a part of the “Pucker Up” production, Danielle Will, was excited to see the film premiere.
“Seeing the film on screen was absolutely incredible. My heart was racing the entire time, and I was jittering in my seat. It was just so exciting to see it in a public venue rather than my computer screen,” says Will.
Both short films were created as an assignment for the film capstone class when Jeff VandeZande, a screenwriting professor at Delta, submitted them to Hell’s Half Mile.
“[Students] have the option to be on the team with their own script. For the most part, we’ve had people who understand that a screenplay has to be brought to light with a different vision and not necessarily their own” says VandeZande.
“Pucker Up,” a comedy, had the packed venue laughing with its plot and dialogue while “Natasha” had a surprising plot twist that made a few audience members gasp. Overall, the audience seemed thrilled with the films and stuck around after the showing to listen to the crew members talk about their methods behind their films.
“I think the films succeeded in that the comedy made the people laugh. “Natasha” was a drama so it was harder to gauge what the response was, but it got a genuine round of applause,” says VandeZande.
HHM Review: the Michigan Shorts
By Jessica Sierocki, photojournalist.
The Michigan Shorts were shown at the Delta College Planetarium Saturday, Sept. 24. While some films were not shot in Michigan, crew members were Michiganders lucky enough to make the cut into the program for community members to enjoy.
- “Immerse,” written, directed and produced Patrick Mallett – The scenes of this film were shot in Italy; the “scenes” being scenery. There was no dialogue to this film. Instead, the audience was able to ‘immerse’ themselves into a world of sounds and natural beauty. I could physically feel myself relax while watching this piece of art.
- “Painting Pilfinger,” written and directed by Bradley Silvius – This short was a 12 minute emotional roller coaster. The main character goes to a park and meets a new friend who changes his life for the better. But when his new friend is taken away, the spiral into depression is rapid. Meaning has gone out the door, and so has the painting.
- “Pucker Up,” Delta College Film Capstone class – A lazy call center employee tries to win over his boss with nice gestures that go terribly wrong. This hilarious short film avoided all corny jokes, and went straight for pure comedy. The entire audience was cracking up at the dialogue and characters. It is definitely a well written and produced film.
- “Natasha,” Delta College Film Capstone class – The main character is a teenage guy who just wants to hang out with Natasha. My first thoughts were, “Why is this kid’s parents so concerned about him spending time with his girlfriend?” I didn’t really understand the meaning until the major plot twist, and I mean major. I did not see that ending coming.
- “Crook’d,” written and directed by Jules Washabaugh – The short film is centered around two criminals who rob an old woman. The piece had a great plot with a surprising twist at the end. That hilarity of the characters was a nice break between the drama films. This was my personal favorite short film of the day.
- “Morbus,” directed by William Mosqueda – Coming in at a whopping two minutes long, this production took “short film” to a whole new level. Regardless of it’s short length, it made quite an impact. Though the details of the plot cannot be revealed, do to the small time length, it was definitely interesting to watch.
- “The Scorpion Tail,” produced by Daniel Belleville – I love mob-related films, and this was no exception. When you try to take over the Scorpion’s city, no one is safe. Double crossing to gain control could not have made for a better plot. The film was even shot in black and white, adding to the air of authenticity.
- “The Quiz,” produced by Tom Greenberg – The Michigan Shorts ended with another comedy. Shot in a bridal suite on the night of their wedding, a couple take a magazine quiz to see if they’re compatible with each other. It didn’t go so well. Add that to a ton of twists and turns, this 8 minu film give the audience a good last laugh.
Studio 23 hosts happy hour and crowdfunding event
By Jessica Sierocki, photojournalist.
Passholders and volunteers mingled with independent filmmakers in a relaxed happy hour at Studio 23 on Sept. 24.
Garrett Weslock, Studio 23 curator, says, “Hell’s Half Mile has brought a lot of people in just because we’re another arts organization. We are sponsoring the event, so it’s kind of like a cross-listed environment with all of the advertisement. We’ve hosted this event this year and the year before.”
During the happy hour, attendees were able to learn more about the importance of crowdfunding for independent filmmakers.
“We’re trying to find ways to be relevant to the film industry outside of just being a place for filmmakers to show their films. We’re looking for ways to really make the connections between filmmakers and audiences that really love independent films and give them the opportunity to convert those audience’s into contributors for future projects. It’s really about creating fans of a filmmaker, not just a film,” says Alan LaFave, festival director.
Terri Lee, an aspiring filmmaker from Detroit, attended the crowdfunding rally, and several other events at Hell’s Half Mile.
“I’ve met so many great people, and I learned a lot. I have a short film out now and I’m working towards making my first feature film. Now I know more about how I can gain support,” says Lee.
Gaining support from audience members is an important aspect of filmmaking. Many independent filmmakers make the mistake of looking for funds and distributors before presenting themselves and their films to the public as credible artists.
“Distribution is a big piece of filmmaking too, but that comes down the line. Perhaps someday we’ll tackle something like that but today we’re just looking at funding opportunities for the filmmakers,” says LaFave.
HHM Film Review: “Operator” takes technology dependence to another level
By Jessica Sierocki, photojournalist.
Joe Larsen, played by Martin Starr, has everything a man can dream of: a great career, a beautiful wife, and a stable home life. Unfortunately, Joe has panic attacks that can be triggered by anything from his mom being in the hospital, to something as small as not taking a picture on his morning run. The only person who can calm him down is his wife, Emily, played by Mae Whitman.
Joe’s company was hired to create a customer service robot, but the first release was anything but a success. His boss wanted a program that could empathize with the customer instead of being a cold, distant feature. Joe decides to use Emily’s voice for the new program’s prototype.
Director Logan Kibens uses this film to show how people in our society are becoming reliant on technology more so than human interaction. The actors brought their characters to life with such raw emotion that it took my breath away. I walked into the Planetarium thinking I was going to see a heartwarming story, but this movie was just so much more. There may or may not have been tears flowing down my face more than once through this film. It was wonderfully written with such meaningful dialogue and filmed at beautiful locations. This film is definitely a must see.
