Reality films: MU students get on-the-job experience

Midwestern students dreaming of futures in the film industry don’t need to head off to Los Angeles to get to work.
The opportunity to take part in the production of a feature-length film exists at the University of Missouri, where the fourth film since 2005 is in the works.
The upcoming movie’s cast and crew were people drawn from a variety of MU disciplines along with Columbia residents and local film professionals. The film’s main character is a roller derby queen played by a professor in the English department.

Two of the previous films made at MU have appeared in festivals all over the world and will soon be out on DVD. The third film is in post-production.
The film industry pros work side by side with MU students to give them an up-close and personal experience in every aspect of filmmaking.
“Students who have worked on previous films have gone on to work all over the country,” said Jeff Uhlmann, an associate professor of computer science. Former students Dan Wyssman and Robb McCleary worked on previous films and now work in the film industry. Wyssman and McCleary are the director of photography and key grip in the current production.
Uhlmann and Roger Cook, director of film studies, are the driving forces behind the film projects. Funding for the venture comes from a variety of sources, including MU’s Interdisciplinary Innovation Fund; Lex Akers, associate dean for academic programs in the College of Engineering; and Dong Xu, a professor and computer science department chair.
Uhlmann said the latest project provides “a unique opportunity to MU students that will be valuable to them for the rest of their lives.”
MU’s Film Studies Program, under Cook’s direction, has partnered with MU engineers on the past three films. Like those films, the project this semester is offering a class in preplanning and production, this time taught by Andy Neitzert, a professional director who also will lend his directing talents to the project.
“I treat the classes like production meetings,” Neitzert said. He added that the film’s producer, Joel Shettlesworth, sits in on the class, which includes a mix of students from various disciplines. The pair has worked professionally on several projects and currently is collaborating on a narrative short film being shot in Columbia.
Story boarding, shot testing, script breakdown and shot sequence are all covered in the class. Some of the film, which Neitzert describes as having a “roller derby/vampire” theme, will be filmed on campus. But various other locations around Columbia will be used, including a building at the Boone County Fairgrounds where the local roller derby league, the CoMo Derby Dames, competes.
The film’s star is a Derby Dame whose real name is Devoney Looser, an MU English professor.
“Joel handles logistics — when and where everything happens,” Neitzert said. Some of the crewmembers are people who have worked with them on past productions, he added. “It takes serious drive, motivation and dedication to make a film like this, but the local filmmaking community is tight-knit.”
Dale Musser, head of computer science’s IT program, has advised the group on technology-related topics, and equipment purchased for past productions — now broadly available for use to IT students — will once again be used. Musser has offered to again address technology-related challenges with the new project.
Much of the post-production for the film will be done by IT and film studies students in a class the team hopes to offer in the fall 2011 semester.
The third film is nearly finished. “Everything has been completed except the sound, which is being done at Webster University in St. Louis in an audio production class,” Uhlmann said. He noted the faculty member teaching the class has a doctorate in sound design and extensive industry experience.
“Most of the responsibility will go to students in the class, but the project has opportunities for participation for all students on campus regardless of prior experience,” Uhlmann said, adding that there will be a need for extras and production assistants.
“We’d like to have as much community involved as possible,” Shettlesworth said. “Anyone who would like to be involved may contact me by e-mail [[email protected]] for opportunities.”
“Media has become such a pervasive thing in the industry with such things as commercials and videos for Web pages,” Uhlmann said. “That’s why we want to be able to offer this experience to our students.”
Jan Wiese-Fales directs external relations for MU’s College of Engineering.