Calvin's Film and Directing Club

Calvin’s Film and Directing Club

If you were in Johnny's a couple weeks back you might have observed Professor Daniel Garcia's Film and Directing Club, FAD for short, shooting a scene from the hit romantic comedy 500 Days of Summer. The group is comprised of Media Production and Calvin Theatre Company students and you may be wondering how these stage thespians and film production people came together.

Well over the summer, Professor Daniel Garcia began brainstorming about a way to help Media Production students learn how to direct actors. He had been realizing how hard it is for students during their 4-year stint at college to get much training in how to work with the people in front of the camera when there is a much greater emphasis in Media Production courses on teaching students about all that goes on behind the camera: audio, lighting, camera operation, editing, etc.

Then the thought hit Professor Garcia of starting an extracurricular film club where students already immersed in the technical aspects of film production could focus primarily on learning how to communicate with and direct actors. “It was something that excited me because I know that there are a lot of students who would love to have more chances to see me directing actors and to actually do it themselves,” said Prof. Garcia. And on the flip side he surmised that there were a lot of actors at Calvin who have not had the opportunity to work on films where there are higher expectations for the performances.

“So the idea”, said Prof. Garcia, “was I would put the word out there and I said we are going to shoot a scene every other week in different locations, we’re going to use things that we haven’t used before, like the Steadicam; we’re going to find scenes from a movie so that they are good scripts and we’re going to have fun.” The end result will be a quality demo reel for the actors and the filmmakers to use when seeking employment after college.

There was a great deal of interest from Media students but Professor Garcia wanted to work with a small team so he had to narrow it down to ten Media Production students to fill all the crew positions. Professor Garcia’s next step was to approach Calvin Theatre Company (CTC) with his idea for the Film Acting and Directing club, FAD for short. So far there have only been three CTC students to join the club. But Garcia said the actors are “terrific” and so the committed filmmakers are working with what they’ve got and have already filmed a scene from 500 Days of Summer and are writing their own script for a scene based on what happens to the characters after the end of the movie.

Calvin Senior, Sarah Scheeres, a Media Production major, says that she joined the club because she “is interested in more than just class work” and liked the idea of “collaborating with the theatre department” and being able to focus more “on the acting or the meaning of the substance that’s coming from your talent.” She added, “The biggest benefit is watching Daniel direct the actors”, added Ms. Scheeres, “starting with [CAS] 190 you are learning the technical aspects from Brian [Fuller] and Daniel [Garcia] about how to use the camera, lighting audio, whereas in Film Club you are able to watch Daniel direct the actors and shape their performance.”

The crew positions in FAD are a sort of practice or trial run for an interim trip to Peru to make a short film that Garcia is organizing. Most of the members of the club are working in the crew positions that they will be working in once they get down to South America. According to Media Production major, Ahna Terpstra, who has been working as First Assistant Director for FAD, the Peru interim was a major factor influencing her decision to join the club. Ms. Terpstra says she has benefitted by working under Professor Garcia, who has been directing these scenes. “Even though we go to school for four years,” said Ms. Terpstra, “I still don’t feel like I know what I’m doing so working on a crew with a director who knows what they’re doing is good experience.”