History of ECTV Pictures
Fall 06 - A Road Less Traveled
Spring 07 - Taking Chances
Fall 07 - Better than Real
Justin Reppert and Gabe Mays work with lighting during the filming of Taking Chances.
As film is a relatively new major at Evangel, the film workshop is only in its 4th semester. However, with each new semester, the opportunities for making student films have multiplied. Dr. Cameron Pace, the executive producer/professor who currently teaches film workshop had wanted to have a film workshop for many years, but could not up until recently, as Evangel did not have the courses to back one up.
When the film emphasis was added, (now a full major starting Fall 08) it became possible to support a film workshop situation. Having the film emphasis also created a need for a workshop that allowed students to work on a film project for the entire semester – allowing it to actually be more than just 10 to 15 minutes.
Pace said his original idea was that the film would be around an hour, but he quickly realized that the class would be pushing themselves too hard and quality would suffer if the films became too long. He encourages the students to shoot for a film that is closer to 30-45 minutes. Regardless, the students are responsible for putting together the film on their own completely from scratch – that includes writing the script, casting the film, producing, directing, and editing.
Another situation was the staffing of the film. Pace came up with the concept of having staff members be a part of the workshop, but working beyond the requirements to also receive a stipend. Doing so would give some compensation to the student for all the hours of work beyond the syllabus requirements that are needed. In this way, Pace can guide the students in the workshop along the way just as he does for other workshops while keeping it a student medium so that students can practice their skills in a way that is more in line with filmmaking. Stipend positions include producer, director, and director of cinematography.
So how did the film department get started? As part of the communications department, Pace had been pushing the idea of having film classes since 1994. However, it took a number of years of planning and development to make it acceptable as an academic program that could be supported by the department and the institution. When Mr. Chip Stanek joined the communications department in 2003, there was another person with an understanding of film studies who could support Pace’s ideas.
Hence, the first film workshop took place in the fall semester of 2006, and has been developing each semester since then. For those interested in being a part of the film studies and film workshop at Evangel, Pace says, “Film workshop is a place where students can practice their filmmaking skills on a large project. It is a place where their questions get answered. They can work as a team to create something artistic and entertaining that they probably could not do on their own.”
With the future in mind, Pace also says that the main goal is to acquire additional film equipment. He would like to get a crab dolly as well as more lighting equipment. He plans to upgrade the editing system this summer. And of course, his eventual goal is to be able to shoot in 1080p at 24 frames per second which will require buying a new camera. (Only us film students know the importance of this goal, or even understand it for that matter!)
At the end of each semester, ECTV Pictures holds a “Movie Night” for the student body where the film workshop movie is presented, as well as other short student films created during the semester. The films created in the past are now broadcast to the public on ECTV, along with “Behind the Scenes” documentaries about the making of each film. Click on the links at the top of the page to learn more about these films.