Some aspiring filmmakers jump into projects with half-baked ideas, without realizing how demanding creating a film can be. After working on productions at VH1 and MTV, as well as on his own independent projects, Ziye Lin '09 knew he was in for a bumpy ride when he decided to collaborate with two fellow students on a new film this past summer.
Joining forces with Morgan Hartley '09 and Sonia Schnee '09, Lin said he made it his top priority to emulate the professional filmmaking process as closely as possible.
"I felt like I had an artist's mission to make a movie, and a good one at that," Lin said. "I decided that if I was going to do this, I might as well make a big deal about it."
The students began the filmmaking process by searching for a screenplay that was both appealing and viable.
They first perused web sites that featured winning scripts from screenwriting competitions, but had to refocus their efforts after several writers denied them the rights to their work.
Unfazed, Lin contacted screenwriters from schools around the country, and even received a submission from a Yale University student.
Still unsatisfied, Lin hunted through a list of Dartmouth film majors, but none of these students' scripts seemed to fit the project either. Eventually Lin settled on one screenplay that could possibly work: his own.
"We went with my screenplay because we felt that it was the most immediately filmable and the most suitable for our production," Lin explained.
The dialogue-driven script, tentatively titled "Worship Me," explores faith by chronicling the unexpected relationship between a religious young woman and an atheist. Despite its weighty themes, Hartley said she feels Lin's screenplay will provide enough thrills and twists to keep audiences interested.
"Finding a good script was important, but it was only a small part of the process," Hartley said. "We also had to find a cinematographer, a cameraman, actors and everyone else."
With their cast and crew in line, the students set about soliciting administrative support. Lin secured a thousand dollars from the Hopkins Center's Robert Dance '77 Arts Initiative Fund to buy a 35 -millimeter depth-of-field adapter, a device that Lin says will help give the project a professional, "real film" look.
Soon after, the trio began filming at several locations around campus with Lin as the project's director.
Production has not been without its pitfalls, however. Filming came to a halt after the movie lost its lead actress during Fall term due to scheduling conflicts.
"We were very lucky, resum-wise," Hartley said. "We had a great student crew, and everyone was completely committed to making a good movie. But it also took up a lot of time, and that didn't always work out with people."
The film recently lost its lead actor as well. Rather than discouraging the crew, however, these tribulations have given the students a taste of what it is like to work in the film industry, Hartley said.
"As a co-producer, I have to constantly make sure everyone is organized and on top of things," Hartley explained. "It takes up a lot of time, but it is definitely fulfilling in the end."
After sorting through the boundless scheduling crises and assembling a crew, Lin and his co-producers began to reflect on how tricky it had been to get the project on its feet. That's when they stumbled upon the idea for the Dartmouth Organization of Filmmakers, which was recently recognized by the Committee on Student Organizations.
"I felt like this campus needed a group which supported amateur filmmakers like us, who just wanted to get together and make a movie in their spare time," Lin said.
The club's main purpose is to generate student interest in the process of filmmaking and promote student-run projects.
"We want to provide an opportunity for student collaboration on high-quality film productions, and for students to make use of the experience gained from doing this," Hartley said.
Students also hope to invite members of the Dartmouth Alumni in Entertainment and Media Association to speak at meetings and give career advice to club members.
"It's very hard to find advice in the Career Services department about film careers," Lin said. "One time I went to inquire about it and they just directed me towards the bookshelf."
Lin said he hopes that students will continue to breathe life into the club after he graduates this spring such that there will always be a steady source of student film productions on campus.
The seniors hope to finish filming "Worship Me" by the end of the term and screen it in the spring. If well received, the movie could serve as an introduction to the body of work that Lin and the Dartmouth Organization of Filmmakers hope to produce in terms to come.