Independent projects allow students
to delve into world of filmmaking
ii_ ^
jim iidima
Stiff Reporter
1 or the truly serious film maker
at the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln. an independent film project
provides the opportunity to ex
luxe ihe energy and the strength
and the desire to really carry on,”
Dixon said The only one who's
come to me so far is Kent.'’
Dixon said that although there
are only one to two independent
study projects done each year,
7 would say that the average independ
ent study project takes a year from first
idea to final print You have to go through
at least a month and a half to two months
of script writing, three to four months of
shooting, three to four months of editing
and then a couple more months for the
final print *
—Dixon
plore the craft of film-making in
depth.
Wheeler Dixon, associate pro
fessor of English and art and head
of the film studies program, said
that independent film projects are
only for students who have suc
cessfully completed courses in
8mm and 16mm filmmaking.
"In order to do an independent
study project, you have to take
super 8 and then you have to take
16," Dixon said. "Then, basically,
you have to come to me with a script
and see whether or not I think the
script is viable."
Only a few students actually get
to embark on an independent film
project each year. At this time, only
one student, Kent Nelson, is work
ing on an independent study proj
ect, Dixon said.
There are several reasons why so
few students produce film through
an independent study project. One
of thfrprimary reasons is simply that
| thermite not many people who are
up tome challenge such a project
presents.
"Once you get out of 16, there’s
only a few people at that point who
there have been as many as three in
one year.
He stresses, however, that not
just anybody can do a project.
"It’s important to realize that I
turn down many more than I ac
cept," he said. “Independent study
films a re only made by those people
who have already taken 8 and 16. If
somebody just walks in and says 'I
want to make an independent
study project in film,’ forget it."
To illustrate the process, Dixon
points to Nelson.
“Kent is a perfect example. He
started out in super 8 and nis film
was the best shot film in the class.
Then he shot the class project in
16mm and did a beautiful job on
that," he said. “Then after that, he
ca me to me a nd sa id 'Look, I wa n t to
shoot my own project.’"
Choosing who gets to do an
independent project is the easy
part. After that comes the difficult
task of actually completing the
project. A great deal of time must be
invested to complete a successful
independent study film.
"I would say that the average
independent study project takes
Film programs allow variety
By Christopher E. Kinney
Staff Reporter
Lights, camera, action.
The University Program
Council’s American Film Series
ranges from cults to classics, Jim
Tasset said* chairman of the Ameri
can Film Series and a senior history
major.
The American Film Series Com
mittee, comprised of students,
chooses films that would appeal to
both students and non-students.
The films are shown in the Nebras
kan Union, usually in Regency A.
The American Film Series Com
mittee tries to show five films a year
but shows more if co-sponsored
with another UPC committee or
campus group, Tasset said. The
University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s
Foreign Film Series is 'roughly 36 or
37 years old," Jim Arthur said, a UPC
spokesperson for Chairperson
Gretchen Franck. A panel of stu
dents and teachers meet and sub
mit choices for film. The film
committee consists of six students,
usually film students, and six fac
ulty members.
The films are screened at four
different times every other Sunday
at the Sheldon Film Gallery. Admis
sion is $3 for students with I.D.,
Friends of the Sheldon and senior
citizens and $4 for the general
public. According to Arthur, the
Rim series offers a student film sea
son pass that "greatly reduces
prices to $1.33 eacn film".
A collection of films on video
tape in the audio-visual department
in the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln English department is also
available to students. Although, the
several hundred odd films can only
be viewed by film class students.
The student cannot check out the
films for outside viewing, they have
to view them in the department.
"If a student is interested in a
particular director," then they may
study a certain work without lack of
source, Wheeler Dixon, associate
professor of English and art, said.
about a year from first idea to final
print,” Dixon said. You have logo
through at least a month and a half
to two months of script writing,
three to four months of shooting,
three to four months of editing and
then a couple more months for the
final print."
Another factor contributing to
the difficulty of doing an independ
ent film is the equipment that the
students have to work with.
“We have a lot of equ ipment a nd
it's very temperamental, it breaks
down a lot," Dixon said. "We’ve
had six cameras break down this
fall so far. They're in the shop."
The "shop” in this instance is in
Chicago. T here are no facilities in
this region to repair the broken
equipment which adds to the film
makers woes.
Still, however, Dixon does not
want to discourage students from
pursuing film at UNL
"I would give anybody who had
a good project and who was an
excellent film maker; 1 would make
lime for them to do an independent
study," he said.
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