Calvin’s annual Fall Film & Media Showcase is happening on campus on Dec. 11 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; students in various levels of film production classes have been preparing for the showcase all throughout the semester, and final filming for a number of the productions occurred on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4. 

The showcase will feature projects from four different Communications classes: COMM 190 – Media Production I, COMM 290 – Media Production II, COMM 351 – Media Production III, and COMM 395 – Special Topics in Communication. Projects presented from different course levels will differ in runtime, the level of detail in the project and the equipment available to the students. 

As 190 is the introductory version of the class, the films that will be showcased will be the shortest in length, according to Sam Smartt, associate professor of communication. 

Films presented by the 290 class will take various forms, from short clips worked on throughout the semester to two larger final projects filmed on Nov. 20 and Dec. 4. 

Marco Gilardi, a senior lab aid, is in the 351 class for the third time as a means of gaining more hands-on experience. He explained that “the more you do it, the better you get at it.” Productions from the 351 class will be the longest in the showcase, as each group in the class has had the full semester to work on a single film, according to Gilardi. 

Finally, films produced in 395 focused on “more advanced work in color grading” and also had a chance to experiment with ethical usage of generative AI, explained Smartt. This means that some pieces that will be presented in the showcase will include AI, and will be noted as such. 

Producing the films

Chimes had the opportunity to go on set for the two final 290 projects on Dec. 4. These two films, which will be presented at the showcase, are called “Tonight’s Special” and “Synced Up.” 

Behind the scenes, students have spent countless hours fleshing out their films, creating the films and putting finishing touches on the pieces. On the day of filming, this looked like multiple retakes to ensure a scene is perfect, exposure to the freezing elements and sharing a meal as a community.

“Tonight’s Special,” directed by senior Claire Van Der Vliet, is a thriller. Van Der Vliet described the story by sharing that “a quiet night of channel-surfing turns sinister when a viewer spots eerie parallels between a cooking show and a breaking news story. As the tension rises on screen, he races to alert the authorities before the truth comes to a boil.” 

Students participating in “Tonight’s Special” are Van Der Vliet, Annalise Borger (director of photography), Maya Oeverman (production designer), Shekinah Cheleru (assistant director), Jackson Roberts (assistant camera), Cynthia Peguero Elvas (audio), Langston Holquist (gaffer/editor), Kayla Lyons (script supervisor), as well as Caynon Love, Jaelynn DeVries, Theo Cooper, Sophia Shweisthal, Moses Kuria and Aisha Abdullahi, all of whom served as talent on the set.

Van Der Vliet shared that the biggest strength of the group’s production has been the crew. “We have an outstanding group of people on this set, all with their own unique skill sets. I’ve been so impressed by everyone’s work. We’ve been able to grow together as film students and as friends — my favorite way of seeing this is through our tradition of getting late-night Taco Bell after wrapping a shoot day,” she explained.

“Synced Up” is a film with “themes that are based in love and freedom and finding joy in little moments, even to the point of frivolity,” explained Assistant Director Sage Altman. “We want the viewers to see our film and primarily enjoy the story, but also see that there are elements of joy in every moment if only we make the effort to find them,” Altman explained. 

Students taking part in “Synced Up” are Altman, Antonio Casarez (director), Jordan Boehm (director of photography), Candance Yang (production designer), Christoffer Cox (first assistant camera), Clara Gruessing (script supervisor), Caleb Starkenburg and Gayeon Park (both audio and post production). Micah Wakefield and Catelyn Danckaert served as talent in this production. 

“As a whole group, I think one of our strengths are our creative visions. We like to dream big and create concepts that we think would be really cool to have as part of the film. What is nice about all of us being creatives, though, is that we then are all determined to try to make the big ideas work,” Altman shared. 

The showcase

For all the students involved in these productions, the showcase is a “celebratory experience,” Gilardi explained.

“Students who are not in the program probably don’t realize that we make stuff at the level that we do. And I think if they come, they’ll be in for a good night of student films and they’ll really be entertained,” Smartt explained. 

For Van Der Vliet, student exposure to the film is important because “even though this will end up being a 4-5 minute film, I can’t begin to count the hours of work that have gone into it. Something that might look simple probably took a lot of planning in pre-production, or a lot of effort in the edit room. It’s important to acknowledge just how much dedication goes into a production like this!”

The showcase will be held on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. in the CFAC auditorium.