Digital Filmmaking

Part-time Practicum Program Thumbs Up

October 15, 2009 It was my first day back home after a week of shooting my independent project in Maine.  As you can imagine, the laundry was piled, the house was a mess and my desk was covered with pre-shoot debris.  Though exhausted, I was still riding that filmmaking high that keeps us all going.  I scrolled through email, coming across a message about a part-time Practicum Project.  Reading further, I found that it was a one-day shoot planned for the following week. A quick look at my calendar, and I fired off my request to join the team.  The project fit nicely between two shoots and my son’s Bar Mitzvah, nine days out.  My non-film friends thought I was crazy.  But most of you would not.  If it’s a good project and it fits in the schedule, why not do it?  Isn’t that what filmmaking is all about?

Image by Celle Amaral

The Practicum project was interesting.  Our client, TeenAids-PeerCorps, is a proactive charity dedicated to educating teenagers about HIV/AIDS prevention.  Their informational website, www.TeenAIDS.org, is specifically for teens and includes an advice line for all sorts of teen problems.   Our project was to produce a broadcast-quality PSA (public service announcement) for cable television stations to air nationwide.  The 30 second spot would also be placed on YouTube.com.  The client had a script, a location, and over 20 teen volunteers from Upward Bound ready to act in the piece. Now, “House Party”, a depiction of teens throwing an unsupervised party and all the possible implications, was ready to be shot.  They needed a film crew to make it happen. 

I became Producer and worked with Howard Phillips, Practicum Advisor/ Project Director, and Urvi Modh, Practicum Manager, to learn more about the Practicum Program parameters and find out who was on the team.  I spoke with Dr John Chittick, TeenAIDS-PeerCorps Executive Director, and gathered information about the organization, its goals, as well as specific details about the cast and script.  With their input, I prepared the Practicum Proposal, reviewing the details with the team at a morning meeting a couple days before the shoot. Over coffee, six current and former Filmmaking students and a Photography student reviewed the shots, setups, and equipment needed with Howard.  As a group, we packed my car. 

Image by Celle Amaral

The shoot was a blast! Imagine 20 teens climbing through the windows and pouring through doors of a house, some laden with pizza boxes and (empty) cases of beer, landing in the kitchen to party all afternoon.  It was loud. It was hot. It was fun.  Dr John added to the mood with a donated lunch and raffles.  The teens were great.  The crew bonded.  The edit went well.  Two students from the Audio program joined the project, composing original music and handling sound design and the mix.  I continued to interface with Dr John, Howard, Urvi, and the crew.  Finally, the project was reviewed with Dr John, fine-tuned, finalized and deliverables were created.  I am happy to say that we completed the project on time; 21 days.

So what did I get out of it?  I’d say that Practicum is a different kind of experience.  It does not feel like a class project.  Everyone is accountable.  It’s assumed that if you are in the part-time Practicum it’s because you want to be there and you want to be part of a team.  Deadlines are real.  It’s like a Real Life project in a school setting.  As I was preparing to graduate, that was what I was looking for: more opportunities for practical applications of what I had learned. In addition, I’ve met students from other departments and learned about what they can do. I’ve had the chance to collaborate with part-time students from other classes and even a couple alumni. This has led to three new projects and even more contacts in the CDIABU world and beyond. 

So, if you have the opportunity to join a Practicum Project, I would highly recommend it.

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