william couch

g33ks unite.

That’s pretty much what happened over the past week here in Orlando. »

I promise this will be the last post about being a film major for a while. But I have to admit, as the semester comes to a close, things get exciting for filmmaking and scriptwriting students. Films are finishing their post-production and being screened at festivals. You get the opportunity to see the work to which your colleagues have been devoting their precious weekends. All of this became salient during Lightworks Festival a week ago tonight.

Aside from the excitement of having one of the first films you’ve truly put some blood and sweat into screened to an audience of well over a hundred, seeing the work of others, whether they’re in your class, or ones above it (I wish I were as ambitious as those Honors kids. Yes, Brandon and Sean, I’m talking to you. And Mike, I obviously loved the title of your animation short, as evident by this post’s title.), is truly rewarding. I definitely have a newfound appreciation for being a film major.

That said, and as promised per the last post, the final film Geoff, Zach, Mike and I made, The Gardener, is complete and posted above. Screened at Lightworks last friday, the film received an overwhelming audience response. Almost everyone who helped with the film was in attendance, and that silent moment between the final shot of the film and the credits has got to be one of the most rewarding moments I’ve ever experienced. I don’t mean for this to become self-congratulatory; I’m solely trying to express the rewarding nature of finishing a piece of work that has been a long time in the making, and how great it is to hear that people enojoyed your production group’s goal. Especially when those people are your incredibly smart and well-versed theory/history professor (Rob King) or the revered Ann Arbor Film Festival Director and they express such appreciation through donning the awards of Best Director and Best Cinematography to your film.

A year ago this spring, I somewhat nervously made the decision to become a film major, and right now I couldn’t be more pleased with having done so.

[You can view a complete list of winners from the Winter ‘06 Lightworks festival here. Also, many of the films are available for download to your computer or iPod via the FVSA Video Podcast.]