r
, n
friday, aprli 6, 1979
lincoln, nebraska vol. 102 no. 106
u
o P i i o
v ii ; t
U.U V ' ll v
Bug lights, bucks, bad breaks fMr&ffi
Filmmaker says cC9est la vie5 to life's little 3isasteo
By Mike Sweeney
The scene looks like countless others.
The girl and boy, out on a date, sip
drinks and talk in a darkened corner of a
downtown Lincoln bar. She wears an ex
pensive dress and a corsage; he, a brown
suit and tie.
But you don't have to look too close to
see what sets this scene apart from others
the 100 watt bug light overhead and -the
camera rolling a few feet away are a dead
giveaway.
The scene is one of many in a film writ
ten, directed and produced by University
of Nebraska-Lincoln student David Graup
ner for an independent study class.
Graupner and five other. students are
creating films for a 16-millimeter film class,
offered this semester for the first time.
According to Graupner, the class is
loosely structured. The students aren't
given any lectures or tests, and have
one textbook.
Instructor Edward Azlant said the class
is not totally independent study; He said
the students work together and critique
each other's work. All the students had
taken a class in super-8 film making.
Graupner said Azlant helps them solve
problems and improvise on their films.
The purpose of the class is to have stu
dents blend sound and pictures into a short
ten-minute film, Azlant said. The films are
made , silently, and sound - is edited in.
v The bar scene is the perfect, end of $ S
tamest XaAe2,f
The film, Graupner said.' is about one of
those days when everything that can go
wrong aoes go wrong.
In one day, the main character played
by Paul Schmieding, manages ttfspili coke
and coffee on his -term paper, get a
speeding ticket as he rushes to get tqr
campus and is late to class, Graupnersaid
That night, at the bar, the main" char
acter is tremendously excited about his
date while she is bored, Graupner said. The
crowning moment comes when he takes his
date home, and hoping for a goodnight kiss
has the door shut in his face. "
"The film says if we have all these prob
lems, just say Vest la vie, Graupner said.
"If you dwell on the problems it does
nothingfor you at all."
Films by the other students include a
documentary on Nebraska artist Robert
Weaver, a docu-drama about an eight-year-old
girl and what she thinks about the
world, and a comment on the nature of ro
mance. Graupner said he got the idea for his
film from experience.
uIts a little bit fotrospective, he said.
"The last four months of my life have been
the pits." - .
, Like the character in the film, Graupner.
said he has had many things go wrong since
he begin filming. -1
Graupner said more than 300 feet of his
film, was destroyed during processing. Re-
snooting the film posed several challenges,
t For example, he said he allowed clothes
and garbage to collect in his bedroom for
one scene shot there. After : he filmed
that scene, he cleaned up. However, part
of the scene was destroyed and part was
not.
When he went to re-shoot the part of
the scene that was destroyed, he had to
carefully re-dirty his bedroom so it would
look exactly like the original scene.
. "We ran into problems we didn't realize
existed until we started shooting," Graup
ner observed. But he said dealing with the
problems was good experience, because
people have film ruined in the real world.
Another unexpected problem arose
when Graupner attempted to film
Schmieding walking through the Union, he
said. In a daze, the character was supposed
to walk into the girls' jest room by mistake.
. With the cameras rolling, Schmieding
entered the rest room, and a woman who
didn't know a movie was in the making un
knowingly followed him a few seconds
later.'-; -
"I wish we had sound, because , she let
out a shriek," Graupner said: "It was a
natural scene."
Mark Goldfien, another student in the
class, said he also had problems with his
film.
"My film has been one constant disaster
from start to finish," Goldfien said. "But
I've been told some of the best movies
ever made went through pure hell to get
out. That's encouraging." . ' J ' - :
One ofGoldfien's cast members sudden
ly died last month, so he had to begin
shooting again, he said. Then, a few weeks
later, his sister, who is part of . the; cast,
passed out in the middle of a scene and had
to be taken to the hospital.' T ,
The six student films ranee in cost from
about. $450 for Goldfienrs film about
romantic fantasy to more than $1,800 for
Steve Porter's film, the documentary about
the artist. Graupner said his film will cost
about $1,200.
Continued on Page 2'
. WW
rzr (oj If
X
- mJ
4 yiV''t
I." i', S
r
f
; On location at Barrymore's tlmmg "t'est La Vie?" from left to right are Mark Pratt, Dave Graupner, Alyce Nelson, Steve f
Porter, and Paul Schmieding as the hard luck hero. .
Camclidates debate senate irelatioiilliiijp
2f2 5: . Consumer . columnist
explores ' electronic , calcuh-;;
tors .pse 9"
Sultans of Swint: MSour Mashn per ,
forms In Omaha. , . .... .pass 1 2
Yfp-ti-ty-o: 300 entries are expected
at the University of Nebraska Ro
r deo Association's rodeo this
1 weekend . .. . , . . .page 14
By Shelley Smith
Although the two ASUN presidential
candidates differ in opinions and philoso
phies, both said they believed good voter
turn-out in the run-off election is vital to
the credibility of the senate.
Bud Cuca with the Students of the Uni
versity of Nebraska (SUN) party and Joe
Nigra with the Students Organized for
Active x Representation (SOAR) party will
x compete April 11.
t Both said tliey want to win the election,
but added it more important that the
winner be elected by a large number of
voters. . " '
The NU Board of Regents won't take
the ASUN president seriously as a student
regent unless it is assured .he has the
support of the students, both candidate's
. said.' C ' - . " -'. . .
Nigro, a 22-year-old history and
political science major said it may be hard
to spark interest In the election because it
Is a nine ft election. . .-"a
" e ICstssrkedbaSots i;- '
: The extra election is being held because ".
of a newly adopted regent rule that requir-;
-ed ASUN executive officers to be elected',
by a majority vote. .
A biIIotir4 system designed to attain a
msjoriry vote failed because some voters
misnaiked bsllots. Nigro and Cuca were
the top two rerr.iirJr.3 candidates. , - : - ; ,
Nigro said most of the election attent
ion was geared to the fust election day,
and when a. president was not chosen, "we
were really drained."
Cuca, a junior business administration
major, agreed and said that he hopes peo
ple wUl become interested again and "look
objectively at the two candidates."
Nigro said his experience as an ASUN
senator and Abel Residence Hall president,
better qualify him for the position.
However, Cuca who works with the Ne
braska Human Resources Research Foun
dation,, argued that sometimes experience
"can" become so. obsessive that the person
becomes engulfed.
Marknau chooses
; . "Joe has ASUN experience fine, but I
have experience with; people, he said.
Current ASUN President Ken Marienau
has decided, to support Nigro, claiming
Nigro experience with ASUN is vital to
being an effective president,
i . "Both candidates have excellent poten-
tial,Vhe said, "It would be difficult for t
person who hasn't ever Worked with ASUN
to come in and assume a leadership role as
"the president. . . . - .
Nigro said he believes that because two
thirds of the senate and both vice presi
dents are from the SOAR party, he is
better equfpped to provids a smooth trans
Itis'n foto the presidency.
There Is no question that 111 be able to .
work with these people," Nigro said.
"There is the possibility that Bud
(Cuca) won't be able to work with them
because he has different perspectives, he
added. . I: -
. - Continued on pes 2
Candidates to
ietee Monday
A presidential debate sponsored, by 1
the UPC Talks and Topics Committee is:
scheduled Monday -between the" tv, o
ASUN presidential, candidates .: b C.3 :
run-off election.? -x:-; :
Bud Cuca with the Students for ths
University of Nebraska (SUN) party trj
Joe Nigro with the Students Oririz; i
for Active Representation V (SOAR).
party'jwiH field questions about cmpus
issues and their qualifications for prtti-dent.t.-
- j. . . . - - - :
: Both' candidates' wi3 mjwer c;.:
tins from Bob Gleason, a former SOAR
party senator, Willie Yatters,crrpif n
manar for the SUJT party, and T:cU;y
Smith, t Dtily Nebrakm itporttr.
The debate will ben at 1 :30 pn. b
the Nebraska Union r.iLn lour - ? .
4..
v
3
f
- -i .
J 1
" t
"3
