Action in Williams Hall

By Naila Awan

Heat emanates from set lamps and a nervous twitch possesses the fingers of a person reciting slightly uneven lines from flimsy pieces of paper while trying to ignore three different sets of eyes focusing on her. The eyes are critiquing each word she projects and every flux of tone her voice makes.

A voice creeps from the darkness, providing the other end of a scripted conversation. The darkness creates a sharp contrast to the light of the stage and generates even more tension for each person who dares to stand alone in front of the camera.

This scene was part of the casting call for Portrait of Unrest, a movie created by mass communication students for their spring 2005 capstone class. The casting call marked the beginning of the filming process for the Williams Hall Interdisciplinary Studio Project (WHISP).

"This pilot project provides a unique opportunity for the production curriculum," said Bob Vogel, a mass communication professor who helped conceptualize the program.

The initial framework for the program began in March 2004 when it was announced through various outlets in Miami's community that scripts supporting the university's 2004-2005 "Citizens of the World" theme would be accepted that May. Of the scripts submitted, one would be selected at the end of the fall 2004 semester to be produced in the spring 2005 semester.

Vogel stated that eight or nine plays were submitted and of those, two were chosen to be used by a class in the fall.

WHISP includes two courses. The first course, a pre-production seminar, took place in fall 2004, when visiting assistant professor Beth Austin and professor Kathy German broke the class into three teams, each of which worked with the selected scripts.

Students edited the submissions and came up with ideas for such elements as set design, talent and a shooting script. At the end of the term, all three teams presented their proposals. From these presentations, a proposal was chosen, and it became the vehicle for the work being done in the spring 2005 semester.

The script that was chosen, Portrait of Unrest, was written by theater major Nathan Swinehart. The play focused on a young Japanese-American dealing with the difficult decision of whether to follow her passion and continue on as a struggling photographer, or give up her dream and accept a high-paying job in the advertising world. Issues of the Japanese culture and Shintoism were also addressed.

To create the film, Austin and Andy Marko, who acts as a producer for Miami's television station, joined a new group of students in the spring semester for the second phase of the WHISP project. British film director Raymond Moore also traveled to the United States to join the class for the three weeks of shooting, which took place from March 28 to April 15.

The students generated the entire project on their own, spending many daytime and nighttime hours filming on location around Oxford and on Miami's campus. Students conducted both field and studio work, while Moore provided support as a guest consultant.

"They are using advanced technological equipment that they have never had the chance to use before," Vogel said. He added that this is the most elaborate and involved project that the mass communication department has ever undertaken.

"Students have had to move to production mode," Vogel said.

When production was taking place, students were responsible for all elements, including storyboards, costumes, makeup, set design, casting, audio, special effects, safety, catering, renting a truck and acting as a fiscally responsible production organization.

Actors from the Cincinnati and Dayton area, some of whom are members of the Screen Actors Guild, also became involved in the casting process, as they attended casting calls that were held in Oxford and Cincinnati.

After the casting calls were completed, there was still no one to play the main character's role. At this point in the process, the class had to quickly rewrite the script to focus more on the professional conflict, while including a slight backdrop of Chinese culture.

Plights like this created a more realistic learning environment for everyone involved.

"This program expands excitement of what liberal arts and a capstone are all about," Vogel said. "We're looking to raise the bar. This program is intended to support the intellectual themes of the university and college."

WHISP not only caught the attention of mass communication students - others also chose to participate in the distinctive opportunities that the program offers. A student from architecture even joined the capstone class to design the scenery.

With talents coming from different areas, the students hope that with their $10,000 budget, they would be able to create a 15-minute movie of a caliber on the professional production level.

"They hope to submit the movie to festivals," Vogel said. "It [submitting the movie] would draw in external support to set up a model of continued funding."

Thus far, the primary financial support for the program has been provided by the provost's office.

A.J. Rickert-Epstein, student director of the film, had the overall job of coming up with the creative vision of the project.

"I'm learning now what it [the film-making process] is really like in safer conditions than the real world," Rickert-Epstein said. "We're making mistakes as we go, which we could not really do in the real world."

"We're like the guinea pigs," Rickert-Epstein commented, adding that since the program is in its first year, the set-up has been continuously evolving. However, he believes that each change made helped improve the program.

"It is not so much a class as an intense real-life learning process of production," student assistant director Stephanie Presley remarked. "It is not about writing papers or taking a test, but about learning how to work with people you may not normally work with and learning how to get things done in a crunch."

Presley, who was responsible for scheduling and budgeting as well as helping the director and producer with whatever they need, thinks that this experience is one of the most valuable she has had in relation to her major.

According to Presley, the class was more diverse in terms of people and personalities than any other she has been in. "We have to work with everyone - not just pair off," Presley said. "We have to communicate and work really well with each other, and work in more of a professional setting with our teachers as well."

"I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out and seeing if it gains any national recognition," Presley said. "I'm most excited for the final project."

Mass communication faculty will continue to offer this hands-on capstone experience.

"What you're trying to do is important. Even if only a few people see them, you've done your best," are the last lines murmured to the dark expanse. After a rather extended pause, a meek voice says into the all-seeing eye of the camera, "Is that it?"

"Yeah, thanks," a voice calls out from behind the lens.

Slowly, a pair of nervous hands removes the microphone attached to the shirt, and the prospective actor makes her way off the stage into the darkness.

A movie clip of WHISP

** All photos by Naila Awan

Read more of Naila Awan's articles:

Crossing Borders, Building Bridges