The race for the Oscars began earlier last week, and students on campus have the chance to participate in their own way with the Campus MovieFest .
Campus MovieFest is an event that gets students involved in the magic of movie making. Students submit short films, each about three to five minutes in length, on any topic of their choosing. It’s a free endeavor by the students, and there is no set theme laid out for students; once they’re loaned a camera, they have the freedom to let their creativity fly.
This event is not limited to just N.C . State’s campus; it’s one of the world’s largest film festivals for college-aged students. It began in 1999 at Emory University with four students encouraging their peers to create short feature films in the space of one week. They provided them with all the materials they needed, including cameras, computers and editing software.
It spread throughout the dorm and eventually throughout the whole campus. Within a few years, all Georgia schools were participating, and today, nearly 500,000 students participate throughout the globe.
It is a weeklong process; all participants are given an HP camera, an Apple MacBook Pro with Final Cut Pro editing software and a microphone. Should a technical problem occur, they are given free tech support.
Once students complete and submit their films, a panel of faculty members and students review them. The top 16 are chosen to play during the MovieFest . From there, the top three are sent to a national competition in Los Angeles, California.
Even some students who do not directly participate in the MovieFest still enjoy it. Aaron Thomas, sophomore in political science, went to the viewings last year as an assignment for Wolf TV and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the work.
“Some of the editing looked just like Inception,” Thomas said.
Thomas listed off his favorites from the previous year, citing one that dealt with the struggle to stay afloat in college and a documentary that followed a girl as she attempted to live on just four dollars a day. He noted his excitement at going again.
“Definitely worthwhile,” Thomas said.
There is no experience needed to enter the MovieFest . The festival has served to jump start some new filmmakers according to Nishant Gogna , one of the coordinators for this year’s event.
“It’s a starting point for young directors on a national, and even international level,” Gogna said. “The top winning films are viewed by producers and celebrities in Hollywood, and they are just astounded by the work they see.”
The Campus MovieFest also has a branch called the Distinguished Filmmakers Network, which is an invitation only society that takes the highest rated student directors and offers them paid work. They create relationships with cliental and productions teams, and become more acquainted with the professional world of filmmaking.
While it may seem intimidating to some, others, like Aaron Cook, junior in arts applications, is nothing but excited about it, knowing whatever idea he’ll come up with, will be accepted in the competition.
“I heard about it last year, and they accept a wide range of films,” Cook said.
Cook did note how intimidating it would be to have ones film sent to Los Angeles to be reviewed by a panel of judges, many of them celebrity producers and directors themselves.
Cook and his production team, made up of a few of his friends, already have a plan in mind for their film, though not for the actual procedure of filming.
“We have a general concept of what we want to accomplish,” said Cook.
The participants still have a week or so to prepare for filming.