Student Films

As a member of several Am-Dram groups, I get a lot of emails from film students at Uni looking for actors.

Now, student films have a reputation of being needlessly bleak, or arty. Basically they make Eastenders look like Mary Poppins.

So what I shall do here is post the summaries of the emails I get to see if there is any truth to this reputation...



Today's film

"The film is about a young woman experiencing a loss of faith following her sister's murder. It consists of a conversation between her and the pastor from her church, where they touch on such themes as faith, forgiveness and suffering."

Ooh, a comedy!

 

Oops, a couple from yesterday as well.

"This one off drama follows the life of an alcoholic man. The premise of the drama is to show the struggles of an alcoholic trying to get sober, and as our main character struggles, we see his demons portrayed as a spider, who acts like the devil on his shoulder in times of weakness.

The spider, who is only seen by our main character and the viewers at home, antagonises our main character, and tries to persuade him throughout the show to keep drinking."


and


"A short drama film that follows the turbulent day in the life of a broken family as they place their elderly mother suffering from dementia into a care home.

Mandy, the daughter, has taken on the responsibility of caring for her mother, whom she has an unsteady relationship with due to their past. Her husband, Dave, tries to be a neutral link between the two but the mother's deteriorating mental state makes it more and more difficult for him. The day follows the husband taking the mother to her favourite places through which he begins to learn about her and Mandy's past. This knowledge builds up to an emotional confrontation between the mother and daughter in which they are able to rebuild their relationship."

 

I think I'd top myself if I actually had to sit through those films..

 

Well, that sort of thing does require a lot of weighty acting so I can see why such subjects come up a lot.

 

I won't lie, none of those would make me 'feel good'!

 

Not much info on the latest one

"The programme is around half an hour long and is based in a post-apocalyptic world in which a small community has formed within a warehouse to keep safe from the "infected"."

 

There's not a great deal you can do in a short-film format though except be arty. They're going for marks, not revenue, so they'll make whatever their stodgy lecturers will like.

 

There's a hell of a lot you can do. They are not told to make depressing films. They just think that that is what they are supposed to do. They tread the line and instantly get forgotten into obscurity.

Think outside the box. Do something different. Get noticed.

 

Serious work though tends to get far more recognition than other stuff, plus most actors want to do serious roles that test their acting abilities rather than some popcorn flick movie. Why do you think so many of them want to be in the big BBC & ITV dramas? That is the sort of work actors love, along with theatre (which thespians would call "real work"), generic stuff is just for the paycheque.

 

Nothing could be further from the truth. Money gets recognition. That's it. When a film is pitched, the first and only question asked is "How much will it make". The content is irrelevant

 

The question is asked by producers and studio people, actors and directors want recognition so they generally prefer more serious stuff that showcases their talent better than churning out mindless money-makers.


Unless you're Michael Bay and it's the only way you can get work

 

Which is why some actors will only agree to do the moneymakers if the studio agrees to finance a cheaper moneyloser etc. doesn't change the fact that these artsy student films don't help them. And that's the words of producers, not me

 

"This project is a modern drama set some time in the future. Rob who has just lost his job after the high-street has gone under accepts a shifty job offer from an online company. A story of mankind vs advanced technology, Robs family battle to free his mind from a huge cooperation taking everything he knows and has worked for - and he can't escape."

 

"We're looking for a strong experienced actor who can carry the role of a torturer"

 

They should call that guy from Lost.

 

"When a young man claims the life of another, he must battle his own guilt and find faith in a friend in order to right his own conscience."

 

I love this thread! I'm a final year degree Film Student and my god I hate what people on my course/my age in general churn out and pass off as film...

Classic signs include:

Gangsters.

A fast-cut Requiem for a Dream style scene revolving around a wake-up routine.

Alcoholism/Drug abuse.

A plot twist where someone was dead all along.

Failed attempts at 'Tarantino' style dialogue.

Stalkers.

Zombies.


Euuurgh - I hate it all so much! I stooped to one of these student lows in my first year because I left it too late to do anything half-decent, and I will never allow that to happen again. I still cringe to this day...

Its a mad shame, because it cheapens the (really quite difficult) art of short cinema, and film students as well! I'm no Scorcese, but damn I felt like I was the closest thing to one after a group ideas session turned up plot points including dead children and disabilities.

 

ooh, dead disabled baby zombies!!

 

Just finished a shoot on a short film (not a student film, but it counts I guess), in which the plot seemed to be race war in quiet Salisbury. Not too sure on the actual plot because it was all shot in an order of "whoever's available we'll shoot with", and I only briefly saw a script. Luckily I was only the still photographer/AC. Either way, seems like it's screening in Cannes or something.