By Olivia Turner | Arts & Life Editor
Much like the rest of the College of Arts and Sciences in October, the Film and Digital Media department is abuzz with classes, screenings and filmmaking.
For those in other departments, filmmaking may seem like more fun than it is toil. But even just a five-minute film can take weeks and even months of work, according to Waco senior Avery Ballmann.
“You have to be creative all the time,” Ballmann said. “It’s just difficult in a different way.”
Preparing to film is much more than just lights, camera, action, Ballmann said. She explained that everything to the smallest detail must be thoroughly thought out as if she’s envisioning the entire film only in her mind before she can roll the camera.
Ballmann, who is a film minor in Production Methods II, said her professor, Maverick Moore, encourages students to try and find their filming style in this class. Ballmann’s short film, titled “It’s Your Turn,” tells the story of a meet-up in a parking lot between two divorced parents who are swapping their child for the weekend.
“I’m a child of divorced parents,” Ballmann said. “If you’ve lived it, it’s just really strange to other people, but it’s not talked about a lot. I’ll drive by, and I’ll see it happening.”
Though the topic may be a bit dark, Ballmann said she wants to make the film a comedy, with the parents one-upping each other to try and appeal to the child.
Meanwhile, in Short Film Production, Lubbock senior Meredith Neeb said she is working on a futuristic short film called “Relight.” The storyline involves a solar flare which wipes out the world’s electricity.
“It’s basically about this girl named Paige who owns an antique store,” Neeb said. “It’s full of lamps that don’t work, and this boy Griffin comes into the store with a lamp. And through their human connection, the lamp turns on.”
Neeb said the filming will take place in a Waco antique shop called Show and Tell. Another antique store in Waco offered to let Neeb use all of their lamps at no cost to serve as props in the film. This will create the perfect glow for when Paige and Griffin meet, she said.
In addition to her $400 film budget from Baylor, “Relight” has received an overwhelming amount of support through Indiegogo, a crowdfunding platform that creators can use to raise funds for their projects. For those that donate on Indiegogo, a digital download version of the film will be available once it is finished, Neeb said.
She also receives assistance in making her film from fellow filmmakers in her department, she said.
“In the film department, I feel like we’re all very close,” Neeb said. “My group of friends that I have at Baylor are literally all film majors, and we are always on each other’s sets. So you just kind of rely on your friends to help out.”
While she’s received several auditions from Baylor actors, auditions for the film are still open, Neeb said.
Ballmann said she will be using actors from Waco Civic Theatre to play the characters in her film. Unexpectedly, several actors were willing to participate even though they knew they wouldn’t be getting paid. She said the film is set to start filming shortly after homecoming. Then, the first draft will be submitted November before a final draft in December. Eventually, it will then be submitted in local film festivals like Black Glasses and Waco Independent Film Festival.
For past films such as “Olivia” and “Going Up,” Neeb said she too has submitted to Black Glasses. This year, she hopes to submit “Relight” to an Oscar qualifier like the Austin Film Festival, she said.
