If you take South Park to be an authority on all issues, as I do, you would know that all independent films are about nothing more than gay cowboys eating pudding. With this stunning revelation, you are probably wondering how to get involved. You came to the right place my Snack-Packin, lasso-crackin desert doggie.
Ron Newcomer is an associate professor in film studies at ASU, which might sound odd to those who know ASU as the only one of 10 of the largest universities without a film program. There is no major, no minor, but Newcomer hopes to change that.
"There are so many courses being taught in film studies that I feel it should be offered as a minor. For now, that's what we're shooting for, and it should have happened 20 years ago."
Newcomer recently won the Arizona Film Commission's award for best screenplay with his piece Full Moon Lover. The story traces a dog that is attacked by a werewolf and turns into a man every full moon thereafter. "It's kind of a reversal of the classic werewolf movie," he explains.
But being the selfless man that he is, Newcomer is spending most of his time trying to give students at ASU a leg up in the film industry. He teaches Film Production I and II, where students should leave the sister courses with 10 minutes of usable film.
One of the students enrolled in the second semester of the course is BIS junior Duncan Frazier, and he knows that 10 minutes of film is a lot harder than it sounds. With his Super 8 recorder in hand (that he purchased for $200 on e-bay), Frazier talks about the costs of making even a super low budget film.
"It costs about $10 for three minutes of film, and another $8 to get that processed." When you consider how many shots it often takes to get a scene right on film, the cost of filming a rock suffering the hardships of erosion for three minutes gets kind of pricey.
The monetary obstacle is half the battle, and even the creative minds that like to work without interference from pesky instructors could still use a business lesson in film.
"In film, you need to be able to wear two hats. You have to be creative, but also you need to understand the business side of it. Even a pretty cheap film is going to cost a million dollars," Newcomer explained.
Having a program that focuses just on film history would be a step in the right direction, but it's certainly not what Newcomer has in mind. "You can't approach film just knowing how to take apart and interpret Casa Blanca and expect to get into the business. Most of the producers these days don't even know what Casa Blanca is."
Another student of Newcomer's that is already figuring out the legwork behind the movie business is undeclared sophomore Ty Lopercio. He is gearing up for the Phoenix film festival April 5-7, but the important date for Lopercio is Feb. 8, when submissions are due.
"We've been shooting for the last couple weeks and are hoping to come out with about 15 minutes of footage when we're done," said Lopercio.
His movie (made with business freshman Ryan Keller and MCC students Ryan Britt and Billy "unthrilling" Irwin) is about four guys playing a game of Risk.
While they show one personality at the game table, they show quite another off the field of play. In short, it's real easy to be a tough guy when invading a bite-size Ukraine, but when we see the guys at work their pansy identities are revealed.
The entry for the Phoenix Film Festival, held at the AMC Arizona Center Theaters, is only $10, so at least you won't be breaking the bank on entry fees if you decide to get into independent film.
With all the nuisances and difficulties facing aspiring filmmakers, why would one even bother? Newcomer explained, "I have no choice. Film is addictive. You should advise everybody not to do it, but you'd be a hypocrite if you did. I fell into it by accident and I've loved every minute of it. I can't imagine doing anything else that I'd like better."
It's a rough business, but that's why it draws some of the best people. Filmmakers like Newcomer, along with his students, believe that if ASU keeps sitting on its thumbs waiting for a film program to create itself, it will continue to miss out on a lot of the brightest minds.
Reach Josh Deahl at joshua.deahl@asu.edu.
