Four student film teams from NC State’s 2015 Campus Movie Fest will head to Hollywood this summer, beating out the other 84 student teams that competed.
Each team was allowed only one week to write, shoot and edit a five-minute film for the chance to earn $15,000 among many other prizes.
What separates CMF from other film festivals is that each participant is given the tools needed to shoot a film. Cameras, microphones and editing software are all supplied for free, ensuring each team gets the opportunity to compete.
One of the student participants was Patrick Pfeiffer, a junior studying physics. Pfeiffer’s team worked on “The Elevator,” a short film in which a young man has premonitions of his future during the elevator ride up to his first day at a new job. “The Elevator” was one of four films to receive the Jury Award, the award that is essentially the ticket to go to Hollywood this summer to compete in the next round of judging.
“CMF was liberating because it forced us to think creatively, especially with the tight deadline of a week,” Pfeiffer said.
Pfeiffer also noted the amount of determination it takes to produce a film in one week’s time.
“We powered through until 3 a.m. on the first shoot,” Pfeiffer said. “So one way or another, we were going to have a finished film, and it didn’t matter if it was going to be a critical success or not.”
Pfeiffer is also captain of the Filmmaking & Storytelling Society, a new club at NC State that strives to create a network of creative thinkers and create cinematic stories. Pfeiffer said the club follows a simple philosophy of, “Write. Shoot. Edit.”
Another student that competed in CMF was Augustus Vieweg, a junior studying electrical and computer engineering. Vieweg wrote, directed and edited the film “Pulling Strings,” a comedic story of two detectives. This film was also one of the four Jury Award winners.
This was Vieweg’s second year competing in CMF. His team won the Jury Award last year for the film “Jokey Edgars.” Vieweg was unable to make the trip to Hollywood last summer, but plans to travel this summer.
“It’s a great networking opportunity,” Vieweg said. “You get to rub shoulders with Hollywood execs.”
Vieweg described the weeklong workload as, “Going to school, having a part time job and having a full time job for a full week.”
Even though Vieweg had a good idea of what he wanted to do before shooting, there were still components that took many hours to complete. One of these was a set of puppets in the film which Vieweg said took about 30 hours to complete.
Despite the rigorous process, Vieweg said, “It was fun. That’s all that matters right?”
Vieweg isn’t involved with film in any other way on campus and has no current plans of pursuing film in the future. However, he said, “If the opportunity arises, I’m not going to say no.”
The Union Activity Board selected the judges of CMF. One of the judges was James Huang, a senior studying communication. In 2014, Huang’s film “The Cypher Documentary” won a Jury Award, however, he could not travel to Hollywood.
“Judging was mainly based on initials reactions,” Huang said. “We only get to see each film once, so the first impression counts.”
Aside from the first impression, Huang also looked for attention to detail, proper storyboarding, script, compelling visuals, effort and creativity.
Huang acknowledged that contestants using their own equipment have a technical advantage. However, he said, “It really matters how you work with what you have.”
Huang’s schedule did not permit him to compete in the festival this year, but he plans on competing next year. He also plans on working in the film industry after college.
“[CMF] really helps nurture young filmmakers, giving them an opportunity to showcase their creativity,” Huang said. “Many students are in a stage where it can be hard to start getting into filmmaking, and [CMF] really helps them. They do a really great job.”
The other two films to receive Jury Awards were “Expired Vitamins” and “American Shift.”
CMF is the world’s largest student film festival. It started in 2001 at Emory University, and has since made its way around the country. CMF first came to NC State in 2008, then again in 2010. It has been an annual occurrence since, with hundreds of students participating each year.
