Student filmmakers are carving out a niche for themselves in the burgeoning genre of independent filmmaking. Whether inspired by their professors, classes or the diverse nature of higher education, students are doing it all: writing, producing and directing — and learning a lot along the way.
In the modern market, large media companies have little use for independent films, instead focusing on productions that require big bucks to generate and disperse.
But, even as major media companies continue producing films with special effects, celebrity casts and superficial plot lines, the independent film genre is alive and well.
Starting small
Peter Jackson and Jon Combs, both students of digital video and cinema at JMU, have collaborated to compose their own short films.
Recently, the duo released an online promotional video for the Shenandoah Bicycle Company. Originally for a class project, the video is a look into the Harrisonburg-based company and their philosophy on biking.
But, Comb admits, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
“There’s definitely been difficulties,” he said. “Malfunctioning equipment, not having the correct permission to shoot at certain locations, people that are hard to work with [both actors and crew], lack of hands on set, too many hands on set, bad weather ... the list goes on.”
Now a freelancer, Combs is using his talents to make wedding videos. He’s also teaming up with Jackson again on an adaptation of E.M. Forste’s short story, “The Machine Stops,” a look at the role of technology in our lives.
A passionate production
Olivia Merrion and John Picklap co-directed “The Farm Course,” a 30-minute documentary about a JMU class whose students work on a farm. The production studies the impact of various cultivation styles at properties located near Harrisonburg.
The course struck the pair as a perfect film subject because it is unique and relevant to the Valley.
“Bottom line, it doesn’t make sense [that] I can go to the local grocery store and buy perfectly ripe red tomatoes when it’s January and 17 degrees out. It just does not add up,” said Merrion, a SMAD DVC major with a minor in Spanish.
The pair are also concerned with the environmental repercussions of the current state of food production in the United States.
“I see our food system as very fragile and — the more people who truly understand that — the better,” said Merrion.
Picklap, a student of media arts and geography at JMU, followed the students aiming to “capture their experiences [and] their reactions” to their time on the farm.
The film made its public debut Oct. 26 at JMU’s Memorial Hall as part of Harrisonburg’s Food Month. Around 40 people attended the showing, which was sponsored by the JMU SMAD and E.A.R.T.H. clubs.
“It was the first time making a documentary for both John and I, so we definitely encountered our fair share of obstacles. We struggled for storyline, we lost footage, we forgot to click record, we did a lot of things wrong, but it was a learning experience,” said Merrion, who hopes to move to Spain after graduation to teach English classes.
Picklap plans to continue making films after college, hoping to remain in the realm of independent films. “It’s free of constraints. It’s open and free to do whatever it wants.”
That lack of restraint may leave more room for errors, but Merrion says that’s the best way to learn.
“In the end, the mistakes we made definitely helped us more than they hurt us,” Merrion said.
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